Ryan Reynolds opened up in a new interview about his “complicated” and “fractured” relationship with his father, James, who died in 2015 after battling Parkinson’s disease for nearly 20 years.
“My dad was a tough guy,” the Deadpool 2 star, 41, told Mr Porter. “He was good in many ways as well, but he was tough on us. This is not meant to be some sob story — everyone carries their own bag of rocks around and I am no different in that regard — but growing up in my house, it was never relaxing or easy and I know that, throughout my life, I’ve dealt with anxiety in different ways.”
Reynolds described James as “a former cop, former boxer, full-time landmine.” He told the magazine that he credits his wife, Blake Lively, with helping him mend his relationship with his dad. He said, “She has a gift for foresight.”
After the father-son reconciliation, the couple, who married in South Carolina in September 2012, named their firstborn daughter James, now 3.
“It felt right,” the Golden Globe nominee said. “All family relationships come with some complications. For better or worse, all roads lead to here. At the end of the day, it’s easier to focus on the good stuff than the bad. My father died soon after my daughter was born, but he got to see her, which makes me happy.”
Reynolds and the Gossip Girl alum, 30, later welcomed their second daughter, Inez, now 19 months.
“I love being a dad,” he gushed to the publication. “It’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
