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Meet Nick Pauley, the queer performer behind the mask in Deadpool’s *NSYNC dance scene
No, that wasn't Ryan Reynolds nailing the "Bye Bye Bye" choreo...
Perhaps you’ve heard of a little buddy-comedy called Deadpool & Wolverine?
The long-hyped, R-rated superhero crossover movie starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman clawed its way to theaters this weekend, breaking all kinds of records and becoming the eighth highest box office opening of all time.
And while the Shawn Levy-directed film has played up the homoerotic bromance angle in its marketing—you saw those popcorn buckets, right?—it likely won’t come as a surprise to hear that it’s really not all that gay. Oh, sure, Deadpool is down with getting pegged, and there’s even some legit LGBTQ+ casting (Emma Corrin as baddie Cassandra Nova!), but it’s essentially one long gay panic joke of a movie.
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Still, amid its hordes of nostalgia-baiting cameos, Deadpool & Wolverine does make space for one very special, very queer guest appearance you might have missed…
After an intro that catches audiences up to speed on Deadpool (Reynolds), our anti-hero travels to a snowy forest to dig up the skeleton of Wolverine/Logan (Jackman), when he’s suddenly attacked by the Time Variance Authority, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s meta monitors of the multiverse.
What ensues is an opening credits fight scene set to NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye,” where Deadpool violently fends off his attackers—using Logan’s adamantium bones as weapons—while pretty much nailing the song’s iconic original choreography.
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Our first thought was: Whoa, Ryan Reynolds actually has some moves! But, as it turns out, that wasn’t him at all (which we guess is one of the benefits of being in a costume that cover you up completely).
Over the weekend, queer dancer and choreographer Nick Pauley revealed that he was the one in the Deadpool suit, brought on board to perfectly pull off the song’s unforgettable dance steps.
In other words: Pauley is “Dancepool.”
In an Instagram post, the performer praised the movie and congratulated the rest of the cast and crew, singling out Reynolds and director Shawn Levy for making him feel “right at home” on set.
“Thank you for your encouragement and enthusiasm when bringing me onboard,” Pauley added, tagging the pair. “It gave me a lot of purpose… an amount I haven’t felt in a while.”
He also showed off the colorful look he wore to the film’s red-carpet premiere (no, he didn’t wear the red-and-black Deadpool suit there!), and called the experience of watching his dance sequence on the big screen “pretty surreal.”
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“I hadn’t remembered what I free-styled in between the choreography,” Pauley added, “and it was hilarious to watch it back and be like ‘oh my god now I remember doing that’.”
And, if the in-costume shot wasn’t enough to prove it, Pauley also posted a video of himself slaying the choreography in a crop-top:
This is far from Pauley’s first time working with high-profile stars. His fancy footwork can all be seen in music videos like Doja Cat’s “Get Into It (Yuh)” and Katy Perry’s “Chained To The Rhythm.” H3ll, eh even got to dance with Meryl Streep in The Prom!
He was also one of the back-up dancers in Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ conversation-starting Grammys performance of “Unholy.” After conservatives like Candace Owens lambasted the number as a “satanic ritual,” Pauley hit back with a video defending the demonic imagery as queer people’s way of reclaiming words like “go to hell” that have been lobbed at them their entire lives.
When he’s not busy silencing the homophobic haters, Pauley keeps his social media followers fed with plenty of dance videos and other thirsty content. Scroll down below to see what we’re talking about:
@nickfpauley Pre-game vibes @spicykimchiboi dc: @dreyamac ♬ Own Brand Freestyle – FelixThe1st & Dreya Mac
@nickfpauley can you tell we’re happy to be here?
♬ Faking Love (feat. Saweetie) – Anitta
@nickfpauley Cat whiskers still on DC: @dexrated & @matt8mccall ♬ WAP x 7 RINGS by Adamusic – Adam Wright
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