Deadpool & Wolverine doesn’t waste much time diving into the ridiculous. Within minutes of the studio logo, the titular Merc With The Mouth is featured in a fight with Time Variance Authority agents set to the hit NSYNC’s song “Bye Bye Bye.” The sequence kicks off the blockbuster with a big fan-friendly moment, and one of the key contributors was Nick Pauley – the masked dancer who is featured busting out Justin Timberlake-styled moves.
If you were under the impression that it was Ryan Reynolds who learned the “Bye Bye Bye” choreography and performed it in the film, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but as a condolence, allow me to offer you the story behind the sequence from Pauley himself. The dancer recently contributed an article to Polygon explaining how the gig came together.
Those who know how Marvel operates won’t be surprised to learn that the whole process was cloaked in secrecy, as Nick Pauley first learned about the job via a vague text from his agent suggesting that he learn the dance moves from one of the biggest music videos of the ‘00s. He writes:
I got a text from my agent saying, ‘I need you to learn the “Bye Bye Bye” dance right now and send me a video. I don't know what it's for exactly, but it's for Disney, so it's going to be something big. So get this in.’ First, I learned it just casually, just watching it on my phone and half-doing the moves. Then for the next couple hours, I let it sit in my body. Then I went full-out, doing it really clean and big while recording it on my phone.
It was quick work, but work that also very quickly paid off. He recounts that it was within 24 hours that he got a response from his agent telling him that he was needed for a costume fitting the next day. At this point, he still had no idea what he was working on.
His level of awareness changed after he drove down from the Bay Area to Los Angeles and got access to a “warehouse in Burbank” and saw the costume he would be wearing for the production... but the whole picture still wasn’t clear. He knew he was going to be doing the NSYNC moves as Deadpool, but he thought it might just be for a bit of marketing. It wasn’t until Pauley actually arrived on set that he realized he was going to be featured in Deadpool & Wolverine – and it was an experience heightened by his own fanhood. The dancer writes,
Suddenly, Ryan Reynolds is walking right up to me and he introduces himself while he's simultaneously taking off the prosthetics on his face. I don't normally get starstruck, but oh my gosh, I totally got starstruck around Ryan Reynolds. I didn't say anything embarrassing, but I remember being really nervous. We had a little moment, then we walked over to the blue screen, and it was him, [director] Shawn Levy, producers Mary McLaglen and Wendy Jacobson, and the rest of the crew who worked on the film. It was this family that I was just getting adopted into for the day.
As for the suit itself, Nick Pauley can be counted as a fan. While superhero suits are generally made by costume departments to be more functional/aesthetically awesome than comfortable, the dancer apparently didn’t feel hindered in performing the choreography:
The first time I wore the suit, it was really amazing. I mean, you can just feel the quality in it. It's stretchy but firm. I'm a huge Marvel fan and I could feel the honor when putting it on.
Pauley notes that the production had to pause every couple of takes because breathing was difficult with his face covered, and it wasn’t the easiest thing to remove the mask because it required removing the swords and the shoulder strap before unzipping the back of the costume. He recounts that he had to do about 15 takes total… but the hard work proved worth it for the final result.
The piece in Polygon goes beyond just his experience on set, as the adventure continued for Nick Pauley at the premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine and the 2025 Academy Awards. And if you want to revisit his special big screen moves, the R-rated blockbuster is available to stream with a Disney+ subscription.
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