Samuel L. Jackson Presents Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds with Bees

Samuel L. Jackson muses over the extraordinary gift he gave Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds to commemorate their wedding in 2008.

During an interview with Vulture, the actor known for his role in “Secret Invasion” reveals the inspiration behind the unique present he bestowed upon the couple.

Jackson and Reynolds shared the screen in the 2017 film “Hitman’s Bodyguard,” and it was through Johansson, Jackson’s Marvel co-star, that the two actors first met.

Given Johansson’s fondness for nature, Jackson decided to gift her and Reynolds a beehive filled with “10 pounds of bees.”

He recalls, “So I had my assistant go out and buy 10 pounds of bees, and then I bought them bee suits and the whole thing. They kept bees for a while and enjoyed honey from the hive during their marriage.”

However, at some point, the bees either left the hive or abandoned the queen.

Johansson and Reynolds ended their relationship in 2011, and Reynolds went on to marry Blake Lively in 2012. They now have four children together.

Johansson married comedian Colin Jost in 2020, and they welcomed their son, Cosmo, in 2021.

Reynolds jokingly shared his initial apprehension upon receiving the unconventional gift during an appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman in 2009. He half-jokingly expected to receive a strange gift from Jackson like “the bloodless corpse of a frat boy.”

Instead, he received a buzzing beehive containing 10,000 bees, along with beekeeping outfits and a lifetime subscription to the American Beekeepers Journal. Reynolds humorously shares, “So I said, ‘I guess we’re putting that in the backyard?’ And he says, ‘Yes.’ So he hands me a couple of beekeeping outfits and a lifetime subscription to the American Beekeepers Journal. The next thing I know, I’m making honey.”

Reynolds further jokes that the bees turned out to be an unexpected security system for his home, despite his initial fear of them.