'I have anxiety. I’ve always had anxiety', says Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds, Canadian actor-screenwriter opens up about anxiety and how he used his trademark sense of humor as a self-defense mechanism to deal with stress.
In a new interview with The New York Times to promote his upcoming movie, Deadpool 2, the 41-year-old actor spoke candidly about about his lifelong battle with anxiety.
In the interview he said, “I have anxiety. I’ve always had anxiety. 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.”
The Deadpool actor also revealed that he went through a “real unhinged phase" in his 20s.
He said, “I was partying and just trying to make myself vanish in some way." He used to be "paralyzed by anxiety" often, thinking about his future. He tried self-medication to deal with the hard times which he was facing. He used to get eased up after partying while few of his friends died of overdose.
He also confessed that he worries before any big appearance or live interview which includes the upcoming Deadpool 2 movie for which he'll be surrounded by press. The film will release on May 18.
“When there’s built-in expectation, your brain always processes that as danger,” he told the Times.
Times has described as “wracked by dread and nausea” which he faces before any talk show appearances. The reason behind his anxiety is that he grew up in a volatile environment because of his late father, with whom Reynolds had a complicated relationship.
“I became this young skin-covered micro manager,” he said. “When you stress out kids, there’s a weird paradox that happens because they’re suddenly taking on things that aren’t theirs to take on.”
Reynolds used comedy as a self-defense mechanism as his father introduced him to comedy greats such as Buster Keaton and Jack Benny.
“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 said. “That’s that great self-defense mechanism. I figure if you’re going to jump off a cliff, you might as well fly.”
