Ryan Reynolds is donning a lycra suit for Green Lantern. The actor opens up about superheroes, sex appeal and life after Scarlett Johansson.

Ryan Reynolds is only too aware of the responsibility that comes with bringing a superhero to life on screen.

The 34-year-old heart-throb, who made his comic book adaptation debut two years ago in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, has now made his transition from comic actor to big-budget action man complete by squeezing into the tight latex suit of the Green Lantern.

“There’s an expectation by the fans of these kinds of films. They want you to look a little larger than life and it’s our job to try to do that,” says Ryan, who made his name in romcoms and beat off competition from Bradley Cooper and Justin Timberlake for the Green Lantern role.

To play the pilot-turned-interstellar police officer, the actor endured hours of training for elaborate fight scenes and ate little more than “wood chips”, he quips, to buff up.

“I had to wear that suit, so I put my required time in the gym,” he says, his toned physique hidden today beneath a black v-neck jumper.

While the Canadian star had always been a fan of his X-Men character Wade Wilson (who becomes hi-tech mercenary Deadpool), he took a bit more persuading to take on the role of cocky pilot Hal Jordan in Green Lantern. Bring on Casino Royale director Martin Campbell.

“I have trepidation in playing any role – but you don’t get in the plane unless you have a great pilot. Martin was attached and the opportunity to work with him was huge for me,” says Ryan.

“The first time I met Martin, I didn’t have much interest in doing it, but as I learned more I really saw the appeal. He’s a Han Solo type and who wouldn’t want to play that?”

Hal is a gifted but arrogant test pilot who becomes the first-ever human recruit to the Green Lantern Corps, sworn to protect peace and justice in the universe.

Each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers (such as flying), creates a protective force field and generates his tight green rubber uniform.

With the encouragement of his childhood sweetheart and fellow pilot Carol (Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively), Hal masters his new powers to take on a new enemy, Parallax, who threatens to destroy the balance of power in the universe.

The film couldn’t be more different from Reynolds’s previous film Buried, a thriller about a truck driver in Iraq who’s buried alive, although he jokes: “I went from a small wooden box to a large blue box.”

Born the son of a Mountie and the youngest of four brothers in Vancouver, Reynolds has come a long way since his first forays into Canadian TV in teen soap Hillside.

“As a kid I wanted to be Tom Hanks. I thought, 'How hard can it be? You get on sitcom, you branch out into movies and you’ve got it made’.”

His breakout role came in 2002 as the titular student in Van Wilder: Party Liaison and a string of romcoms followed including Just Friends and Definitely, Maybe. But by 2008, he was still mostly known for being married to Scarlett Johansson and being Alanis Morissette’s ex.

His on-screen chemistry with Sandra Bullock in last year’s romcom The Proposal confirmed his leading man appeal, and just before his amicable split from Johansson in December he proved his acting mettle by shouldering the entire weight of thriller Buried as the only actor on screen.

As far as Reynolds is concerned, it’s all been a happy accident: “I’ve never had a game plan.”

He’s been voted Sexiest Man Alive for three years running, but doesn’t really understand what makes him sexy.

“It’s individual for everybody. I always think that self-deprecation can be charming and sexy, but I don’t know,” he says sheepishly.

He’s “not interested” in dating again six months after the break-up of his two-year marriage, although Johansson is rumoured to be seeing actor Sean Penn.

Instead, Reynolds is focusing his energies on his burgeoning career.

He’s back on screen in comedy The Change-Up in August, he’s just finished filming with Denzel Washington on thriller Safe House, and his X-Men spin-off Deadpool, featuring his favourite comic book character, is in the works.

It’s definitely Ryan Reynolds’s time to shine.

The Ryan Reynolds story

1976: Ryan was born on October 23 in Vancouver.

1990: His career began in teen soap Hillside.

1999: He made the leap to film in romcom Coming Soon, with Mia Farrow.

2004: Ryan and Alanis Morissette announced their engagement in June and called it off three years later.

2008: He got engaged to Scarlett Johansson in May and the pair married in September.

2010: The pair both filed for divorce.

2011: His leading man status is confirmed with the role of Hal Jordan in Green Lantern.