Despite his flawless appearance, Ryan Reynolds isn’t perfect.
The “Deadpool 2” star, who’s known for his quick wit as well as his looks, admitted to the New York Times that he struggles with the publicity part of fame.
“I have anxiety, I’ve always had anxiety,” Reynolds shared. “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.”
With success from the sitcom “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place,” Reynolds’ early 20s became his “real unhinged phase.”
“I was partying and just trying to make myself vanish in some way,” Reynolds said, admitting that he self-medicated to deal with crippling anxiety; however, he stopped when a few friends died of overdoses.
To help cope with the anxiety during major press tours now, Reynolds conducts most of his interviews in-character, acting as Deadpool instead of himself.
“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,” Reynolds continued. “I figure if you’re going to jump off a cliff, you might as well fly.”