Ryan Reynolds Shares Daughter James’ Favorite Movie in Rare Comment — & We Bet She'd Freak if She Knew the Whole Story

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Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively are notoriously private about their kids. So much so, that they have a 1-year-old whose name and sex haven’t been revealed. They are mom and dad to daughters James, 9 Inez, 7 and Betty, 4, along with their sweet secret baby who was born last February.

The Deadpool actor recently wrote a touching tribute to Michael J. Fox for TIME — and shared a rare tidbit about his eldest daughter.

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“Last year I watched Back to the Future with [James],” he said. “It’s become her favorite film.”

Her favorite film, and she doesn’t even know a key piece of information.

“I know how lucky I am to call Mike a friend,” Reynolds said. “She still has no idea that I know him.”

NO IDEA?! Her dad knows the star of her favorite film and he’s keeping that priceless piece of information hush-hush? We’re sure she would flip out if she knew that. Who wouldn’t?! Dad knows Marty McFly!

Fittingly, Reynolds talked a lot about Fox flying. And about him falling.”Not just because he has Parkinson’s. He falls a lot because he’s unafraid to fly.”

In the touching tribute to Fox — who TIME named one of the 100 most influential people of 2024 — Reynolds said it would be lazy to “simply characterize [Fox] as the greatest champion of Parkinson’s research on the planet” or to “simply regard him as a movie star who shaped the lives of people all over the planet.” Instead, he spoke of Fox’s disposition and what it means for his personal parenting style.

“I don’t need to teach my daughter the level of compassion Mike has mastered,” Reynolds said. “Or teach her to tell stories the way Mike tells stories. I need to teach her that it’s OK to fall a lot. It’s the absolute best way to know you’re flying.”

Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and James Reynolds (Photo by Rob Latour/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, James Reynolds, and Inez Reynolds in 2016 (Photo by Rob Latour/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)

One celebrity connection the older Reynolds girls do now know about is their honorary Aunt Taylor.

…Taylor Swift.

ICYMI: Swift and Lively are besties, and Swift loves the little girls so much that James’ voice is heard during the opening of Swift’s song, “Gorgeous.”

It wasn’t until two years ago, though, that Reynolds’ daughters realized their auntie is a Big Deal. “They went to a concert one day and were like, ‘Ohhhhh, this isn’t a hobby,'” Reynolds shared during an interview for Sirius XM’s The Jess Cagle Show, adding that listening to Aunt Taylor’s music has become “like a religion in our house.”

And so we’re sure Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department, is blasting in the Lively-Reynolds household today. (Cuz same.)

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