Ryan Reynolds Opened Up About His Anxiety & Shared What His 'Medication' Is
The Canadian actor was on an episode of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman.
Ryan Reynolds in Wales. Right: Reynolds on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman.
Ryan Reynolds opened up about his anxiety and even shared what his "anti-anxiety medication" is.
During an episode of the new season of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman that dropped on Netflix on May 20, Reynolds chatted with the former late-night talk show host about his childhood, his wife Blake Lively, his anxiety and more.
The Vancouver-born actor told Letterman that he would have anxiety when making an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman back in the day and basically thought he was going to die before getting on stage.
"I'm less anxious when it's happening, it's much more of an anticipatory thing," he said.
When he would actually get on stage during the show, he said that an "idiot takes over and has some joes and can kind of roll with things."
Reynolds told Letterman that the self-effacing humour is what saved him.
After telling Letterman that Lively runs the show at their home, he was asked if that anxiety would set in if she went away for a few weeks.
Reynolds said, "If I was just with the girls I think I would find it pretty exciting at first."
He has previously shared that he deals with anxiety when he explained how his life was during his sabbatical from movies so he could spend more time with his family.
While talking to the hosts of the Today show in March, he said, "I mean, I lay awake at night thinking — there's anxiety — 'what's going to happen in the morning? How is this going to go down? Are one of these children going to strike me?'"
During his episode of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman, Reynolds said that he had anxiety when he drove from Canada to L.A. to pursue acting when he was around 17 or 18 years old.
He also revealed that he has a special way of dealing with those anxious feelings.
"I love old movies. Turner Classic Movies is kind of my anti-anxiety medication. I just leave it on, sometimes I don't even have the volume on, I just kind of love the feeling of an old movie," Reynolds said.