Ryan Reynolds On Opening Up About Mental Health: 'Part Of My Job As A Parent'

Ryan Reynolds has revealed that it was his three daughters with wife Blake Lively who inspired him to publicly talk about his mental health struggles.

The "Deadpool" star, 44, revealed his "lifelong" struggles with anxiety on Instagram in May for Mental Health Awareness Month. In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Reynolds said he wanted to be the best role model for his three daughters — James, 6, Inez, 4, and Betty, 1.

"Part of it is that I have three daughters at home and part of my job as a parent is to model behaviors and model what it's like to be sad and model what it's like to be anxious, or angry. That there's space for all these things," he told ET. "The home that I grew in, that wasn't modeled for me really. And that's not to say that my parents were neglectful, but they come from a different generation."

According to Reynolds, another reason he decided to share his own mental health struggles was to "destigmatize things and create a conversation around" mental health.

"I know that when I felt at the absolute bottom it's usually been because I felt like I was alone in something I was feeling. So I think when people talk about it, I don't necessarily dwell on it or lament on it, but I think it's important to talk about it. And when you talk about it, it kind of sets other people free," Reynolds explained.

He continued, "Other people feel like, 'Oh, he's feeling that and so am I.' And even though we might be in two completely different fields or we might have two completely different lives, it connects us in a way. A lot of it is just wanting to model certain things for my own kids and model things for anyone who might need to hear it."

In his message last month, Reynolds acknowledged that Mental Health Awareness Month was "almost over" as he explained why he was so late to post his statement.

"One of the reasons I'm posting this so late is I overschedule myself and important things slip. And one of the reasons I overschedule myself is my lifelong pal, anxiety," he wrote on Instagram.

"I know I'm not alone and more importantly, to all those like me who overschedule, overthink, overwork, over-worry and over-everything, please know you're not alone," he continued. "We don't talk enough about mental health and don't do enough to destigmatize talking about it. But, as with this post, better late than never, I hope."

Reynolds will next appear in "The Hitman's Wife’s Bodyguard" with Salma Hayek and Samuel L. Jackson. The film hits theaters on June 16.