When it comes to his kids' excitement, this time Ryan Reynolds doesn't have to imagine.
The Deadpool star's newest movie IF—which stands for "imaginary friends"—is a far cry from his usual action-heavy films, which are not always appropriate for his and Blake Lively's daughters James, 9, Inez, 7, and Betty, 4, and a fourth child born in February 2023, to watch, and is instead a movie made especially for children. It's a change, Ryan says, his daughters were waiting for.
"The only four-letter word I say in this movie is 'yes' with two s's," he joked during an interview with E! News at IF's New York premiere May 13. "My kids are psyched to see it, which is so nice. Cause you always want your kids to pay attention to what you do."
He continued, "And I think when they see movies being made, it's so agonizingly slow and boring. So when they see something condensed down to an hour and 45 minutes, it's pretty wild for them." (For more from the IF premiere, tune into E! News tonight May 14 at 11 p.m.)
And in addition to watching their dad frolic around with a multitude of imaginary friends, James, Ines, Betty and their littlest one can also see Blake onscreen, though she appears in a feline form.
"She shows up as a kitty," Ryan said of his wife's cameo, which he noted was a milestone for their family. "A huge plus for the babysitting aspect, because we both got to be on set with our kids at the same time."
And when it comes to his sweet new film, the 47-year-old knows it will be an instant family classic—partly in thanks to creatorJohn Krasinski.
"I think John really was able to illustrate that really beautiful, kind of tenuous connection between grown ups and kids," he reflected. "Obviously you can't have one without the other, but also how interconnected they actually are. And then when you grow up, how close you still are to who you were when you were a kid."
He continued, "And we're constantly trying to change that, or fix things or move on from who you were, or who you used to be. And this movie kind of celebrates reacquainting yourself with that little kid."
But on whether his own house is rampant with imaginary friends having four kids at home, Ryan admitted he's sure there are a number of them, but that his kids keep the details under wraps.
"I know that when I was a kid I didn't tell my parents about my imaginary friends," he shared. "So maybe I'll have to eavesdrop."
And for more of Ryan and Blake's sweetest quotes on parenthood, keep reading.