Ryan Reynolds Opens Up About 'Mercurial and Unpredictable' Family Home, Says It Fueled His 'Anxious Mind'

Ryan Reynolds is getting candid about his childhood.

Speaking at the WSJ CMO Council Summit on Nov. 18, the Deadpool actor, 49, opened up about growing up in Canada with his parents, Tammy and James “Jim” Chester Reynolds.

As moderator Maryam Banikarim put it during the panel, Reynolds' early family life involved ups and downs.

"You grew up the youngest of four with a dad who shifted careers. Your family had to sell the house," she said, referring to James' work as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police before pivoting to being a food broker.

"There was a time when you quit acting," Banikarim continued. "In that moment when you thought of quitting and giving it all up, what kept you going?"

"I don't know. An armadillo rolls up into a ball and then keeps going, right?" Reynolds quipped in response. "...You either use it, or you're consumed by it."

"I do think that all of our patchwork quilt of struggles and failures and wounds and all that stuff is what leads to kind of differentiating yourself in a lot of ways," the dad-of-four continued.

"Because as a kid, if you grow up in a house that is — I'm not saying at my house, my home, was like, you know, some sort of World War II experiment, it had its lovely moments — but it was mercurial and unpredictable. And I find that to be kind of a recipe for an anxious mind," Reynolds explained.

According to the actor, his childhood may have played a role in how he conducts business as an adult.

"So, the anxious mind is constantly making stories, thinking ahead, planning, strategy. What happens if this happens when he or they come home, or what happens if this or that is broken? You start to get really kind of creative, and you can be consumed by that, or you can use it," he shared. "And I've been using it."

Reflecting on when he first felt financially stable and began making what Banikarim called his "Deadpool money," Reynolds added that the feeling is instantly comforting.

"When you get this exponential jump in, sort of, life satisfaction, I think it's when your needs are met," he shared. "You sort of, from there, you can actually do amazing things. That's the like inflection point, not the person becomes a millionaire or a billionaire. It's like, 'Person feels safe.'"

Reynolds' father 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 has been candid about learning that James' struggle with hallucinations and delusions are two lesser-known symptoms of Parkinson’s — and has shared that these symptoms may have contributed to their complicated relationship and eventual estrangement. 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."

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"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."

The Red Notice star went on to express regret for how he handled his remaining years with James.

"It was very easy for me to dine off the idea that my father and I didn't see eye to eye on anything and that an actual relationship with him was impossible. As I’m older now, I look back at it and think that was my unwillingness at the time to meet him where he was," Ryan shared. "I could have maybe been there with him toward the end, and I wasn’t. He and I just drifted apart, and that’s something I’ll live with forever."