During a question and answer session ahead of the release of John Candy: I Like Me<\/a>, a documentary about the late comedian produced by Reynolds, 48, the actor opened up about feeling like grief “hits you at weird times” \u2014 and he experienced that first hand when his father died<\/a>.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n “There’s an episode with Jimmy Fallon<\/a> 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.”<\/p>\n Reynolds. 48, recalled how he stopped, paused for a moment to process and then recovered with a joke as quickly as he could.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n Isaiah Trickey\/FilmMagic<\/p>\n Ryan Reynolds attends the premiere of “John Candy: I Like Me.”<\/p>\n Reynolds’ father James Reynolds<\/a>\u00a0died in 2015 at age 74 after living with Parkinson\u2019s disease for nearly 20 years. In the years after his father\u2019s death, Ryan learned James\u2019 struggle with hallucinations and delusions\u00a0are two lesser-known symptoms of Parkinson\u2019s<\/a>. He has since partnered with the educational campaign\u00a0More to Parkinson\u2019s<\/a>, which offers resources to patients and caregivers.<\/p>\n “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,\u201d the\u00a0Deadpool & Wolverine<\/a>\u00a0star told PEOPLE back in August 2024.<\/p>\n Despite their difficult relationship, Reynolds told PEOPLE at the time that he sent James a letter about five months before his death \u2014 “which I’m very grateful I did.”<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n E. Neitzel\/WireImage<\/p>\n Ryan Reynolds (center) with his parents, Tammy and James<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.<\/p>\n Speaking with PEOPLE, Reynolds also opened up about how his own experiences as a father \u2014 he shares kids James, 10, Inez, 8, Betty, 5, and Olin, 2, with wife Blake Lively<\/a> \u2014 have helped him to heal.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n “[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\u2019m the worst \u2014 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\u2019m here for them . . . I\u2019m like, ‘Oh, okay. I just weirdly didn\u2019t mean to, but I fixed something with my own dad.’ “<\/p>\n![\"Isaiah](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/f92517bb113469751cdcbfb079d2a369.jpeg\"\/)
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