Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney Declare Phil Parkinson “Wrexham Manager for Life”

Wrexham, Wales — In a rare public declaration of managerial security, Hollywood co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have told The Athletic that Phil Parkinson will remain in charge of Wrexham “for life,” regardless of results.

The pledge comes on the heels of Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat to Millwall, only the second time in 18 months the Red Dragons have been shut out at the SToK Cae Ras. The loss leaves Wrexham fifth in the Championship, still inside the play-off places and on course for a potential fourth consecutive promotion — a feat never achieved in English football.

Speaking ahead of the Millwall match, McElhenney traced the genesis of the club’s modern era to a single phone call in the summer of 2021, when he persuaded Parkinson to leave League One Sunderland for the fifth-tier National League club.

“For him to take that risk and to come on that journey with us — no, create that journey and the blueprint — has been… critical is not the word… essential is not the word,” McElhenney said. “I don’t know I have the words to fully describe how integral Phil has been to the story and success of Wrexham.”

Parkinson, 58, initially balked at the approach, twice rejecting Wrexham before McElhenney’s pitch convinced him to drop three divisions. The manager’s first words to the actor-creator were prophetic: “One thing I know for sure is you will fire me one day.” McElhenney’s response now forms the bedrock of the club’s culture: “I just don’t see a scenario where Phil Parkinson gets fired… he’s got the job for life.”

Reynolds, nursing a knee injury while watching from the directors’ box on Saturday, echoed the sentiment, likening Parkinson’s locker-room standards to those on a film set.

“Culture starts at the top down,” Reynolds said. “If ‘Mr Bigshot Movie Star Guy’ shows up late to set, and is rude and entitled… it works its way down. Phil has made this all about the locker room.”

Since his appointment on July 1, 2021, Parkinson has overseen 256 competitive matches, winning 149 and guiding Wrexham up 74 places in the pyramid. The club have scored 500 goals under his watch and risen from National League anonymity to the cusp of the Premier League. Only six managers across the top four divisions — including Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta — have held their posts longer.

Reynolds and McElhenney insist they leave football decisions to the staff they have empowered, including former EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey and chief executive Michael Williamson. During the recent transfer window, Reynolds spoke with Parkinson daily yet never questioned the manager’s veto on targets.

“I’m thinking, ‘Why aren’t we going for this player? He wants to come’. But Phil doesn’t have to explain himself. He just has to say it’s not right. That’s it. No follow-up question,” Reynolds said.

McElhenney argues that lifetime security sharpens rather than softens competitive edge.

“He’s not one to rest on his laurels,” McElhenney said. “I just don’t feel that when anyone feels they are on the ‘hot seat’, they do their best work.”

Saturday’s defeat, in which Millwall scored twice despite only one shot on target, was an anomaly — an own goal by Max Cleworth and a late breakaway. It does little to dim the owners’ conviction that the architect of Wrexham’s rise will remain at the helm for as long as he chooses.

“Unless he finds another job he wants to go off and do, he’s our coach. He’s our manager. He’s our guy,” McElhenney said.

Part two of The Athletic’s exclusive interview with Reynolds and McElhenney will be published Monday.