Ryan Reynolds Says Helping Deliver ‘Jeopardy!’ Clue During Alex Trebek’s Final Episodes Was ‘Heartbreaking’

Ryan Reynolds says it was an “honour” to deliver a clue on what would become one of Alex Trebek‘s final Jeopardy! episodes. After appearing on Monday night’s episode of the show, which marked the first of Trebek’s final episodes, the Deadpool actor opened up about the bittersweet moment on Twitter, admitting that looking back on the moment now, two months after Trebek’s Nov. 8 death, is “a little heartbreaking.”

During his brief virtual appearance on the long-running game show, Reynolds delivered a clue under “Movies,” quizzing contestants about NPCs, or non-player characters in video games. The cameo also served as a promotion for his upcoming film Free Guy. Delivering the clue, Reynolds asked, “In my 2020 movie Free Guy, I play a bank teller who comes to realize that he’s really an NPC, short for this kind of character in an open world video game?”

Initially slated for a 2020 release but delayed to May 21, 2021, Free Guy stars Reynolds as an NPC gone rogue. The action-comedy is also set to feature a number of cameos, including one from Trebek. The cameo will mark Trebek’s last film appearance, with Reynolds having briefly opened up about the game show host’s appearance in the film when paying tribute to Trebek following his death. At the time, Reynolds, in a tweet, revealed the “gracious and funny” host filmed his cameo “last year despite his battle.”

After announcing his stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis in March 2019, Trebek died at the age of 80 on Nov. 8. Along with filming his final film credit before his passing, Trebek also taped Jeopardy! just 10 days before his death. His final episodes began airing Monday, with his last Jeopardy! appearance scheduled to air Friday. Speaking on the Today show Monday, Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards called Trebek “unbelievable,” revealing that he had been hospitalized just a week before he filmed his final episodes.

“He calls me and says, ‘Mike, I’m going to be fine. I’ll be in top tape. I was able to eat Jell-O today.’ And I went, ‘Alex, that’s great, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to be ready to host five episodes of a game show, which is an enormous amount of effort.’ He said, ‘Do not cancel. I will be there,’” Richards recalled. “He was an absolute warrior.”

In Trebek’s absence, a slate of interim guests will host the long-running game show, with Jeopardy! G.O.A.T. champion Ken Jennings stepping in to host beginning Monday, Jan. 11. Trebek had hosted Jeopardy! since 1984, hosting more than 8,000 episodes by the time of his death.