For an action hero, Ryan Reynolds sure comes across as one big softy.
In a cover interview with Men’s Health, the “Deadpool” star opened up about his most important role — as a dad to 2-year-old James and 10-month-old Ines, his daughters with wife Blake Lively.
“It’s the best thing that’s happened to me, and I don’t take a second of it for granted,” Reynolds, 40, told the magazine while promoting his upcoming movie, “The Hitman’s Bodyguard.” “I’m also really lucky: my work is intense for periods, but then I can also take time off, and a lot of people can’t, so I’m grateful for that.
“I love watching my kids grow and evolve, and I hope that I get to do that for a huge amount of their lives,” he added, unable to stay serious for too long. “Until they kick me out.”
Fresh off the success of “Deadpool” — which earned $783 million worldwide at the box office last year — Reynolds is currently filming the sequel. He’s made a super heroic leap into the A-list that wasn’t exactly in a single bound. The Canadian actor struggled for years to be taken seriously in the business.
“I don’t want to sound like a fortune cookie, but I think you define success by a certain level of happiness,” he told Men’s Health. “I would say I have a very similar sense of wellbeing to when I was younger and less successful. Even when I was driving a forklift. As long as I can do some form of work that brings me some joy, I feel like I’ll be OK. I define success as allowing yourself to be happy. Because it’s easy to disallow that.”
It’s a good thing Reynolds found success in acting — because there’s zero chance he’d have made it as a professional chef.
“I am not innovative in the kitchen,” Reynolds said. "If I cook, you'll have a structure fire. The firemen will kick down our door, take my wife away, and give her a better life."