The 'Green Lantern' actor admits in an interview that channeling Deadpool has always been a source of relief for him.
- May 4, 2018
AceShowbiz - Ryan Reynolds channels his "Deadpool" character to help him deal with anxiety issues. The actor has been battling anxiety since he was young, and success hasn't made it any easier for him.
"I have anxiety, I've always had anxiety," he tells the New York Times. "Both in the lighthearted, 'I'm anxious about this kind of thing,' and I've been to the depths of the darker end of the spectrum, which is not fun."
Reynolds admits his fun-loving spots on chat shows and on red carpets is just a facade, because he actually dreads public appearances, where the focus is on him. However, he explains he has found a way to use his Deadpool character as a source of relief.
"When the curtain opens, I turn on this knucklehead, and he kind of takes over and goes away again once I walk off set," he adds. "That's that great self-defence mechanism. I figure if you're going to jump off a cliff, you might as well fly."
Ryan's mental health issues spiked around the 2016 release of "Deadpool", because he didn't want to disappoint fans. "I never, ever slept," he told Variety magazine. "Or I was sleeping at a perfect right angle - just sitting straight, constantly working at the same time."
He continued, "By the time we were in post (production), we'd been to Comic-Con, and people went crazy for it," he continued. "The expectations (of starring in 'Deadpool') were eating me alive. (My wife) Blake Lively helped me through that. I'm lucky to have her around just to keep me sane."
