VANCOUVER — A Vancouver-area paparazzo reportedly arrested following an alleged confrontation with actor Ryan Reynolds has had run-ins with other Hollywood stars.
Vancouver police are recommending a charge of intimidation against a man whose vehicle allegedly struck Reynolds in an underground parking lot.
Police have not identified the man they arrested, but The Vancouver Province and Vancouver Sun said he is Rik Fedyck, a 52-year-old celebrity photographer.
Fedyck told the Canadian Press via text message on Tuesday that the stories circulating in the media of him hitting Reynolds with his vehicle in the lot of a downtown luxury hotel on Friday evening are "100-per-cent false."
In 2007, Fedyck filed a lawsuit claiming he was verbally and physically assaulted by Pamela Anderson and Denise Richards, who were in Richmond, B.C., shooting the film "Blonde and Blonder."
He dropped the suit fewer than three months later.
Fedyck said in the brief text conversation that he didn't believe he would be going to court over last week's alleged confrontation with Reynolds.
He was released with a promise to appear in court on April 28, said Vancouver police spokesman Brian Montague.
The conditions of his release are that he is not to be in Vancouver other than for his court appearance and he is not to have contact with Reynolds or his family, Montague added.
Fedyck maintained his innocence in an interview published in The Vancouver Province on Monday.
"All I'm going to say is Ryan Reynolds was not hit by a car," Fedyck said, denying that any pictures were taken.
He recounted spending 14 hours in a "pretty scummy" jail before his release.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
The seldom-used charge of intimidation is defined in the Criminal Code as forcing another person to do or not do something against their wishes and carries a prison sentence of up to five years.
It can apply in a range of instances, from obstructing a highway to "persistently" following someone.
Police say Reynolds had a sore knee and back after the parkade kerfuffle but that he was fine to return to work the following day.
The Vancouver-born movie star is in the city filming his new movie "Deadpool."
