Deadpool 2 actor Ryan Reynolds on his lifelong struggle with anxiety

Reynolds also said that he went through a “real unhinged phase” in his 20s and “was partying and just trying to make myself vanish in some way”.

He also talked about growing up with his father Jim Reynolds, a former police officer-turned-food wholesaler, in Vancouver, British Columbia, and called him “the stress dispensary in our house”.

“I became this young skin-covered micro manager. 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 said.

The actor also said that he has been doing press shows as the Deadpool as it helps him combat stress. “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,” he added.

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Ryan Reynolds also talked about the high expectations audiences have from Deadpool 2, considering the smashing success that the original was. “When there’s built-in expectation, your brain always processes that as danger.” Deadpool 2 will release on May 18.