Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney Hilariously Recreate Classic Wham!'s ‘Last Christmas’ Album Cover

The duo paid tribute to George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley with some fun cover art on Tuesday

Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds attend the FYC red carpet for FX's "Welcome to Wrexham"
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds. Photo:

Leon Bennett/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas for Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

In a picture shared to social media Monday, the pair celebrated the holiday season by recreating the classic “Last Christmas” single cover from British pop duo, Wham! 

Actors Reynolds, 47, and McElhenney, 46 — who together own U.K. soccer team Wrexham — styled their hair and outfits to mimic those worn by Wham! stars George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley on the original cover art which was released in 1986. McElhenney then posted the hilarious results to his Instagram on Monday with Reynolds also sharing the image to his own Instagram Stories. 

Underneath the pouting black-and-white picture, the pair replaced the names of the pop stars with their own and added the logo of their beloved Wrexham soccer club in the corner of the snap. The post’s caption simply read, “WREXHAM!” alongside a Christmas tree emoji. 

Wham Last Christmas Single Cover
Wham!.

Columbia Records

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The stars also donned leather jackets to stage their own version of the 1983 Wham! studio album Fantastic. Against a red backdrop, the duo posed for the camera with McElhenney sporting a mustache, just as Ridgeley had on the original version, while Reynolds had his leather jacket unbuttoned. They also replaced “Wham!” at the top of the cover art with “Wrexham!” — a nod to their docuseries Welcome to Wrexham,

Game of Thrones actor McElhenney subsequently shared the images to his own Instagram Stories accompanied by Wham!’s famous festive tune, “Last Christmas.”

Fantastic (Wham! album)
Wham!.

Columbia Records

The festive tribute comes ahead of the 7th anniversary of Michael’s death. The music legend died unexpectedly on Christmas day in 2016, aged just 53, with his passing shocking fans around the world who had been captivated by his vocals since he rose to fame as part of Wham! before forging a hugely successful solo career. 

Michael was found dead at his home in Goring-on-Thames, a village in South Oxfordshire, England by his boyfriend Fadi Fawaz. At the time, Thames Valley police released a statement saying that Michael’s death was “unexplained but not suspicious,” while an autopsy later led to “inconclusive” results.

Michael’s influence is still felt, however, and Kate Middleton even wove an emotional tribute to the singer-songwriter into her Together At Christmas carol concert for 2023.

WHAM!, George Michael & Andrew Ridgely
George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in Wham!.

Pete Still/Redferns

Earlier this month, the Princess of Wales, 41, hosted the holiday service at Westminster Abbey in London for the third year in a row and it featured a piece of pop music history in honor of Michael and Beatles legend John Lennon

During the program, U.K. radio host and mental health advocate Roman Kemp, 30, the son of 80s pop stars Martin Kemp and Shirlie Holliman, introduced singer-songwriter Jacob Collier’s performance of “Last Christmas,” which he performed on a piano that originally belonged to Lennon and was once owned by Michael. 

Michael — who had been Kemp’s godfather — was remembered by him on the evening as “a man of great kindness and compassion.” The radio host added that Michael was also at the event in “spirit.”

Royal Carols: Together at Christmas will be broadcast on ITV1 and ITVX on Christmas Eve at 2.45 p.m. EST.

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