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Ryan Reynolds is opening up about his experience with grief following the death of his father
The actor said that “grief is one of those things that just finds you at the weirdest moments”
Reynolds’ father James died in 2015 at age 74 after living with Parkinson’s disease
Ryan Reynolds is opening up about the complexities of grief.
During a question and answer session ahead of the release of John Candy: I Like Me, a documentary about the late comedian produced by Reynolds, 48, the actor opened up about feeling like grief “hits you at weird times” — and he experienced that first hand when his father died.
“The grief thing is odd. I find it hits you at weird times. When my father passed away, we had a complicated relationship,” he shared at the Sept. 24 event.
“There’s an episode with Jimmy Fallon that exists where you’ll see me lose my train of thought,” he continued, sharing that his dad had already been dead for several years at that point. “I’m in the middle of a story. There it is, just hits me like a f—— freight train.”
Reynolds. 48, recalled how he stopped, paused for a moment to process and then recovered with a joke as quickly as he could.
“Most people would never notice it, but grief is one of those things that just finds you at the weirdest moments,” he finished, adding that words of support sometimes seem “inconsequential” because of how unique the experience of grief is.
Isaiah Trickey/FilmMagic
Ryan Reynolds attends the premiere of “John Candy: I Like Me.”
Reynolds’ father James Reynolds died in 2015 at age 74 after living with Parkinson’s disease for nearly 20 years. In the years after his father’s death, Ryan learned James’ struggle with hallucinations and delusions are two lesser-known symptoms of Parkinson’s. He has since partnered with the educational campaign More to Parkinson’s, which offers resources to patients and caregivers.
“I think most men and boys have a slightly complicated relationship with their father, but I also think that the healing for me or the closure around my dad actually really comes more through my relationship with my own kids,” the Deadpool & Wolverine star told PEOPLE back in August 2024.
Despite their difficult relationship, Reynolds told PEOPLE at the time that he sent James a letter about five months before his death — “which I’m very grateful I did.”
“The letter was basically a list of every amazing thing he ever did. Every time he showed up or every time he had a catch with me outside after baseball practice,” Reynolds recalled. “Every time he just was there. And if the man couldn’t express his emotions in a way that was dynamic, well, many people can’t.”
“The guy was born in the ’40s. It’s okay. So I’m super grateful that I sent that letter,” he added. “I know for a fact it meant the world to him, and it went back from my earliest memories to present day or as close to present day as possible. So I did get that closure, but I wasn’t with him when he passed away, and I do wish I was.”
E. Neitzel/WireImage
Ryan Reynolds (center) with his parents, Tammy and James
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Speaking with PEOPLE, Reynolds also opened up about how his own experiences as a father — he shares kids James, 10, Inez, 8, Betty, 5, and Olin, 2, with wife Blake Lively — have helped him to heal.
“The healing for me really comes more through my relationship with my own kids, while taking some of the things from my father that are of immense value,” he shared. “My dad had incredible integrity. He did not lie.”
“[Now] I get to fill in those little gaps that maybe hurt me. I get to show up,” Reynolds continued. “When my kid is acting out or telling me I’m the worst — my dad would retreat into the power of silence, and that is not the way to acknowledge your kid. So to be able to get down on their level and just tell them that I believe them and that I’m here for them . . . I’m like, ‘Oh, okay. I just weirdly didn’t mean to, but I fixed something with my own dad.’ “
Read the original article on People