Ryan Reynolds and his abs of steel appear on the upcoming cover of Entertainment Weekly. Clad only in a very low cut pair of swimming trunks and wearing swimmies, a snorkel and a mask, Ryan looks like he’s poking fun at his hard-to-deny sex symbol status with some kiddie accessories. You just can’t hide those razor sharp hip bones and that tight body, though.

Reynolds is promoting his romantic comedy with Sandra Bullock, The Proposal, which is out in the US tomorrow. The film looks like crap, but people will probably see it because it’s light fare at a time when a lot of us need a mental break.

I get the impression that Reynolds is kind of an arrogant jerk after reading some stories about his diva behavior with fans and on set, but he’s decent enough in this interview. EW even mentions that Ryan isn’t arrogant, as if it’s something that really needs to be said when you’re talking about Reynolds:

Ryan Reynolds is simply too smart and self-aware to be so good-looking. The reticent hunk—who kicks off our Must List for 2009, thanks to his big-screen summer double shot of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Proposal–spent his EW cover shoot wielding a giant water gun instead of an ego, and try as he might, he simply cannot muster the arrogance to flaunt what he’s got. When asked if he’s comfortable as a sex symbol, Reynolds sighs. “If you take any of that seriously, you need to be euthanized, ASAP,” he says. “There are moments when you can use that to your advantage. But it’s really embarrassing. I think I fear more than anything just sounding like a complete a–hole when I have to answer that question.”

So let’s skip to the work, where the 32-year-old Canadian is more at home. Of late, he’s certainly done enough of it. In a span of 15 months Reynolds shot four consecutive films: April’s teen comedy Adventureland; Wolverine, soon to spawn a spin-off for Reynolds’ sarcastic mercenary-turned-mutant, Deadpool; The Proposal, a romantic comedy (in theaters Friday) that lets him crack wise opposite old friend Sandra Bullock; and Paper Man, which debuted this month at the L.A. Film Festival, where Reynolds plays Jeff Daniels’ imaginary superhero friend. (He also found time last September to wed actress Scarlett Johansson, a marriage he prefers not to talk about beyond calling it “fantastic.”)…

But even if the cross-gender appeal of this summer’s labor vaults Reynolds into the marquee stratosphere many have long anticipated he’ll reach, the Man Who Was Van Wilder But Has Since Proven He’s Capable of So Much More will still probably pass on the arrogance thing. “I’ve always just liked working. I like being a working actor,” he says. “There’s an old saying that you don’t ever finish a movie, you abandon it, and I really believe that. I never walk away from a take and pat myself on the back. You always walk away going, ‘Dammit, I should have tried this!’ It’s that possibility that keeps me coming back for more.” Wait, artistic integrity and hot abs? Did we mention the guy’s a Must?

[From EW.com]

I guess I don’t get Reynolds’ appeal. He’s aesthetically hot, but I don’t find him that attractive because he doesn’t seem cool to me at all. He comes across like a salesman and I can’t stand that type. It’s hard to get a read on his personality because it’s like he has this hard shell of fakeness on the outside. His new wife, Scarlett Johansson, also doesn’t strike me as interesting. She seems ok, but she kind of doesn’t register for me either. Maybe that’s why they’re good for each other. I’m not really rooting for Ryan to have a fabulous career. I’d rather see someone fun like Matthew McConaughey in these romcoms.