Back In the Spotlight
- Rick Moranis appeared in a commercial alongside Ryan Reynolds
- Moranis lost his wife, Ann, to breast cancer in 1991 and decided to take a break from acting to raise their two kids
- This commercial marks 23 years since Moranis stepped away from on-screen acting
Moranis, 67, lost his wife, costume designer Ann Belsky, in 1991 to breast cancer. She was just 35-years old. The couple were married for only five years by the time she passed; they share two children, Rachel and Mitchell. Moranis tried to keep working in the industry, but as so many of us know it’s hard to work full-time when you are the only parent. He made the difficult decision to step away from the red carpet to focus on being a dad to his young children.
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He’s been out of the spotlight since, but after his 18-year acting hiatus, he’s back and starring alongside Hollywood heartthrob Ryan Reynolds in a new commercial. The clip is in promotion of Reynolds’ company Mint Mobile, and instead of just casually bringing Moranis into the scene, the Deadpool addressed Moranis’ hiatus head on.
“It’s hard to believe that Mint Mobile has gone so long without an unlimited plan, so to introduce it, we brought in an actor we’ve all gone too long without,” Reynolds says.
Even though the commercial was only 40 seconds, it was refreshing to see Moranis back on the (not so big) screen. Plus, fans couldn’t contain their excitement at the sight of Moranis’ grand return.
“I love how you brought Deadpool to the screen, but bringing back Rick Moranis is even better,” film director James Gunn wrote.
“Find someone who looks at you the same way Ryan Reynolds looks at Rick Moranis!” one Twitter user wrote.
In the commercial, Reynolds stares in awe of Moranis (who can blame him), saying that he’s a huge fan. Judging by a response he wrote on Twitter, he’s not joking.
Honestly, when he said yes, I wept.
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) September 9, 2020
If you need me, I’ll be planning a Moranis movie marathon.
Coping With Losing a Spouse To Cancer
Moranis and his wife kept their cancer journey relatively out of the public eye, but no matter the situation, losing a spouse can be one of the most difficult experiences someone can face. Families impacted by the disease have spoken to SurvivorNet about how they handled talking about the future after a prognosis isn’t promising, which includes coming to terms with reality and having tough conversations with your kids.
John Duberstein was there for his wife Nina when she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, and stood by her side during treatment. However, her prognosis wasn’t looking good, and even though John understandably denied it, he says Nina started to accept their new normal.
"I really wanted things to go back to normal, whatever that meant," John says. "She was not for that. She wanted to embrace the existence that she had, even before she knew she was going to die imminently. I did not want to talk about what was going to happen with me after Nina died. Nina is the one that really brought it up, she brought it up a number of times. In retrospect, I can’t even explain how glad I am that I had that.”
John Duberstein, who lost his wife Nina to cancer, says having tough conversations is important
Even though these conversations were extremely difficult to have, John says that in the end he’s happy Nina pushed him to talk about it, and encourages others to be honest about their emotions and take part in these discussions.
“I’ve talked to some other folks who’ve had that experience in varying degrees,” John says. “I think, across the board, the people who have had those conversations who I know who have lost a spouse are immeasurably glad that they did.”
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