Ryan Reynolds Cover

Ryan Reynolds covers the October issue of GQ. Even though the orange is really strong with Ryan at all times these days, I still think this is a nice editorial. The October issue is GQ’s “How To” issue, and Ryan’s interview – which he did to support Mississippi Grind – is mostly about fatherhood, marriage and how his life has been completely changed by Blake Lively and baby James. For what it’s worth, I think he absolutely adores his life now and this is probably the happiest we’ve ever seen him. You can read the full GQ interview here. Some highlights:

Fatherhood advice: “The one piece of advice I would say is: Don’t listen to any advice. Because there’s nothing you can do to prepare for it. I’ve learned that an inordinate amount of clichés are completely true. Like, there is this kid here that I would walk through fire for. Or maybe not fire. Like, a very hot pavement, I’d walk through. A shag rug.”

Whether he’s surprised by how he took to fatherhood: “I think I am, yeah. I can’t say I had an easy relationship with my father, and I can’t say my brothers did either, but I look at each of my older brothers, and they’re all fathers, and they’re all great fathers. So I had some good examples. But I don’t think you really necessarily need examples. You just try to not be a complete pile of sh-t and just be there for them. You know, I like it: I mean that in the heaviest context. I genuinely like it. I like being a father. I like having a daughter. I would like to have more kids. You know, it seems to suit me pretty well.”

They still don’t have a nanny: “I’m surprised how patient I am with it. I feel like I could sometimes have a bit of a short fuse, but there’s just been this weirdly endless supply of patience. I have no problem waking up five times in the middle of the night and changing diapers, and as exhausted as you get, I have this stupid grin on my face all the time. And that’s not because I have a nanny or something like that. It’s just us right now, and I love it.”

He’s trying not to brag about his kid: “I get why parents have that sort of predisposition to talk about their child as if they’re the only people that have ever copulated and pumped out a kid. I understand that. I don’t f–king fall victim to it, because, especially celebrities, when they talk about their kid, they talk about their kid like they’re the Chosen One, or they’re the only people who have ever had a child… I find it to be really obnoxious. In fact, every time I talk about my kid in public, I’m generally talking about how average she is. But at home, I’m like, ‘You’re a genius! Oh, my God! You just took a sh-t in your diaper that came out as a perfect musical note!’”

Judgy mommy bloggers judging him: “Yeah, ‘Can I just make some mistakes and all of you just f–k off?’ Yeah. You want to be able to say that. But you can’t say that. There is almost no community on Earth as intense as the parent-child online community.”

[From GQ]

The rest of the piece is a really good read too, so I’d highly recommend it. Ryan comes across as a dick a few times, then he catches himself and clarifies. He talks about how he’s never been nominated for an Oscar and why he that’s not his priority. He even acknowledges that even with all of the false starts in his career and all of the bombs that have been put on his shoulders, he still likes where he is and he’s lucky to still be working so much, and that probably wouldn’t be the case if he was a woman or a black actor. All in all, it’s one of the best interviews I’ve ever read with him.

GQ cover star @VancityReynolds shows us how to embrace your dad years http://t.co/CcbelOyUvq pic.twitter.com/P5QmahaCOd

— GQ Fashion (@GQFashion) September 21, 2015

Photos courtesy of Peggy Sirota/GQ.