Earlier this month, the legendary “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek passed away at the age of 80 following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Now, Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds is opening up about the “gut-wrenching” final conversation he had with Trebek before his passing.
Reynolds Reflects On Last Talk With Trebek
“It forces you to look around a little bit and see the people and the faces that are in our lives every day and really remember not to take[sic] them for granted,” Reynolds told Extra. “I was talking to Alex on the phone two months ago, and that was amazing then, just like that, he was gone.”
The 44-year-old Deadpool star went on to explain that he talked with Trebek about appearing on “one of the shows he had coming up.”
“It was a conversation about one of the shows he had coming up,” Reynolds said.
“I had been on the show a number of times, he was asking me about perhaps coming on again. I was shooting in Atlanta and was unable to do it… When you speak with people like that that you grew up watching and suddenly you are talking to them on the phone, you start to reflect.”
Reynolds recently tweeted:
Alex Trebek was kind enough to film a cameo for our film Free Guy last year despite his battle. He was gracious and funny. In addition to being curious, stalwart, generous, reassuring and of course, Canadian. We love you, Alex. And always will.
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) November 8, 2020
You’ll see Alex at about the 1:34 mark in the trailer:
RELATED: ‘Jeopardy!’ Host Alex Trebek Talks About What He Wants His Legacy To Be
‘It’s Absolutely Gut-Wrenching’
“You just never know; tomorrow is not a given,” he added. “Hug them tight, the people in your life. It was really shocking and sad. Obviously, he was sick and it wasn’t totally, wildly unexpected. It’s still heartbreaking nonetheless. It’s absolutely gut-wrenching.”
With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, Reynolds also reflected on 2020 as a whole. “As a whole, when you look back at 2020, there are just a litany of lessons that I think everyone can look back and hopefully move the ball forward,” he said.
“You have to, to a certain degree, look at the good things that are coming out of it, and I think the good things are, is change, real change, not just like, ‘Oh, we should really do that thing,’ — no, it’s really going to happen.”
Related: ‘Jeopardy!’ Host Alex Trebek: Why ‘I’m Not Afraid Of Dying’
Alex Trebek’s Last Day
Alex Trebek spent his last day on earth with this beloved wife Jean of 30 years, recalls Mike Richards, the executive producer of “Jeopardy!”
“He had a nice final day. He was out on his swing that he loved with his wife and surrounded by family,” Richards told the Today Show. “It was a very peaceful day, there were laughs, and then he went to sleep.”
“If you know Alex, he did everything that perfectly and even his last day was done that perfectly. I just love that he had a nice, a good last day,” he added.
“Ultimately, his family came back into town. He was surrounded by everyone and I think he knew that it was his time. He was very at peace with that.”
Rest in peace, Alex Trebek.
Read Next: Remembering Alex Trebek: The ‘Jeopardy!’ Moments That Made Him A Game Show Legend
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