Ryan Reynolds Says He Doesn't Want His Kids to Be Child Actors: 'It's Usually About the Parents'

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Ryan Reynolds is looking out for his family.

The Spirited star accepted the prestigious American Cinematheque Award in Beverly Hills Thursday and expressed deep gratitude for his acting career and home life with Blake Lively.

Yet the Golden Globe winner also shared that he won't let daughters James, 7, Inez, 6, and Betty, 3, follow in their famous parents' footsteps until they're older.

"Putting a kid in a business like this, it's generally not about the kid," Reynolds, 46, told PEOPLE at the ceremony, which was sponsored by Château Malartic-Lagravière. "It's usually about the parents."

"When they're older, they can do whatever the hell they want," he adds. "I'm excited for that."

"Our job is to foster as much interest in as many different things as possible at this point."

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Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for American Cinematheque

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In September, Lively, 35 revealed that she's pregnant with the couple's fourth child at the 10th Annual Forbes Power Women's Summit, where she posed in a sequined long-sleeved mini dress with her baby bump on display.

Speaking on the Today show in November, Reynolds opened up about the baby, admitting that he's hoping their fourth child will also be a girl.

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"I know girls, so I'm kind of hoping that," said Reynolds, while noting that he and Lively "don't know" the sex of their fourth child on the way and "never find out 'til [they're born]."

Reynolds is the 36th recipient of the American Cinematheque Award and the first Canadian to ever receive it. During the event he received tribute speeches from Will Ferrel, Nathan Fillion, Mary Steenburgen, Octavia Spencer, Rob McElhenney, Sean Levy and Lively.

The evening also featured video tributes from Jeff Bridges, Salma Hayek, Hugh Jackman, Helen Mirren, Sean Levy and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

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Dia Dipasupil/FilmMagic Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds

"I've never really taken myself too seriously and it creates a pretty confounding paradox when I'm celebrated by a very serious Awards Show with prestigious company like this," Reynolds told an audience that also included Ron Howard and Ted Danson.

"This honor tonight is a moment for me that is almost unspeakable," Ryan adds to PEOPLE about the accolade. "I mean, it certainly happens to somebody after you've been doing this a long time, and I sometimes forget, I'm not a 22-year-old kid anymore, so that's amazing.

"This is a room filled with collaborators that I've had for decades, some of them, and they're friends and this is a community that I know and love and I'm just really grateful that this is happening," he continues.

"I'm not aggressively ambitious, even though I do a lot. I'm just interested. I love the things that I get to do. I get really fascinated by the work that I get to be a part of."