Ryan Reynolds opens up about being a ‘present dad’ as he reflects on break from acting

Actor announced ‘little sabbatical’ from acting in October

Ryan Reynolds discusses desire to be ‘present dad’ as he opens up about break from acting (AFP via Getty Images)

Ryan Reynolds has opened up about the enjoyment he gets from being a “present dad” while reflecting on his choice to take a break from acting.

The Deadpool star, 45, who shares daughters James, six, Inez, five, and Betty, two, with wife Blake Lively, discussed the factors that went into his decision to take a sabbatical during an interview with LinkedIn News senior editor at large Jessi Hempel.

“You know, for me, I just want to live like a normal human. I think I want my kids to have a pretty normal schedule,” Reynolds said, after telling Hempel that the biggest reason for the break is because he doesn’t want to “miss this time with my kids”.

The actor then acknowledged that, although he and Lively have alternated filming in the past so that one of them could be with their children, “always, we were away”.

“For many years when my wife Blake would shoot a film, I would not shoot a film. And I would be with the kids and vice versa, so we sort of trade off, we never really worked at the same time,” Reynolds explained. “But always, we were away. So the kids were away too.”

According to Reynolds, now that the couple’s children are in school, he wants them to have a “somewhat normal” schedule, as he told Hempel that he thinks it’s “really important for their development”.

“And I really enjoy being a present dad. I love taking them to school in the morning. I love picking them up,” the father-of-three continued, adding that he also loves having the hours in between to focus on the things that he’s “really passionate about,” such as Maximum Effort, the creative agency he co-founded in 2018, and the software platform MNTN, for which he serves as chief creative officer.

During the conversation, the Red Notice actor also reflected on the time he was able to spend with his family during the pandemic, with Reynolds noting that, while he doesn’t miss “Zoom school,” it was “really lovely to have that insight and visibility into my kids’ real daily lives”.

“And for my wife as well,” he added.

This is not the first time that Reynolds, who announced his intention to take a sabbatical from acting in October, credited a desire to spend more time with his family as the main reason for his decision.

While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter last month, the actor said: “I’m just trying to create a little bit more space for my family and time with them. You know, you don’t really get that time back.

“For me, it’s really about getting some quality time with my kids before they’re teenagers who loathe me.”

Reynolds’ comments come after Lively recently spoke candidly about why she believes it is important for the couple’s three daughters to see her working, with the Gossip Girl star telling People that she wants to be “as present of a mother as humanly possible” but also thinks that the “best way to be the best mother” is by showing her children “you can have a life and have a passion and have an identity outside of just being a mother”.