At the very beginning of 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) addresses a concern that many had going in, especially those who enjoyed the 2017 masterpiece Logan. Characteristically breaking the fourth wall, he says, “I know what you’re wondering: how are we gonna do this without dishonoring Logan’s memory? And I’ll tell you how. We’re not.”

From there, Deadpool digs up Logan’s body at the same gravesite he was buried in at the end of Logan, revealing Wolverine’s remains in an advanced state of decay, making his skeleton, still covered in near-indestructible adamantium metal, highly visible.

A moment later, agents from the Time Variance Authority arrive to arrest Deadpool and he proceeds to tear apart Logan’s skeleton and use the bones to kill and maim the agents. Logan’s rib becomes a throwing star, his skull and spine are swung around like a mace, and his leg bones are used as nunchucks. The scene is set, hilariously, to the 2000 NSYNC hit “Bye Bye Bye” and, amidst the gore, Deadpool joyously dances, using the same choreographed moves from the song’s music video.

It was the perfect way to reintroduce Deadpool, and one of the key figures who made it possible was Nick Pauley, a professional dancer who stood in for Reynolds in the Deadpool suit during the shots which saw the character dancing (something he did so perfectly that he was officially credited as “Dancepool” in the cast list). Here, in his own words, Pauley tells the story of becoming Dancepool, from a warehouse in Burbank to a Hollywood set to the premiere to an unexpected performance at the Oscars, all of which began with a mysterious call from his agent.

The Call

On February 15, 2024, I was just chilling at my parents' house, visiting up in the Bay Area and not doing anything special. Then 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.”

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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. The hardest move was probably the stomp. When you do that jump, I think it's supposed to be done casual, just like a hop, but I did like a stomp-hop and, I don't know why, but it's hard.