Ryan Reynolds inspired Blake Lively to star in The Shallows movie

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In this summer’s thriller The Shallows, Blake Lively (The Age of Adaline) plays a surfer who is attacked by a shark and then must fend for her life while trapped alone on an ocean rock. Lively is basically the only actor in the film — even the shark was added later through CG.

It turns out that Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), inspired her to take on the emotionally and physically challenging role. “My husband did a movie called Buried and that was one of the reasons why I wanted to take on this movie so much, because I know how tough that was for him and how rewarding it was,” reveals Lively. “It was terrifying and one of the most vulnerable things you can do but you gotta do it, right?”

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The Shallows hits theaters on June 24. You can see the film’s trailer above.