Ryan Reynolds Explains Why It's the 'Perfect Time' for Him to Take Sabbatical From Acting  

Ryan Reynolds is putting his family first.  

In October, the 45-year-old Deadpool actor first revealed that he was taking a brief sabbatical from acting. Now he’s giving more insight into his decision. During an interview with LinkedIn’s Senior News Editor, Jessi Hempel, on Monday, the father of three spoke more about his decision and how it was influenced by his and wife Blake Lively’s three daughters. 

“The biggest thing for me -- and I know you have kids as well -- I don’t want to miss this time with my kids,” Reynolds told Hempel.  

The Red Notice star, who is also using the time to focus on his creative agency, Maximum Effort, and his software program, MNTN, added that it’s the “perfect time” for him to step back and be with James, 6, Inez, 5, and 2-year-old Betty. 

"They tend to chew and blow bubbles with every aspect of my life when I'm shooting a film," he said about the filming process. "So allowing myself to step away right away, it's sort of the perfect time. Not just for my family but for MNTN and for Maximum Effort, to just kind of focus on those for a little while." 

For Reynolds, who tied the knot with Lively in 2012, it’s time for him to lead a “normal life,” for a while. "I want my kids to have a pretty normal schedule,” the star said.

“For many years when my wife Blake would shoot a film, I would not shoot a film and I would be with the kids and vice versa. So we would sort of trade off. We never really worked at the same time. But always we were away. So the kids were away too," he shared. 

"Now that they're in school, they have a somewhat normal schedule. I think it's totally important for their development and I really enjoy being a present dad. I love taking them to school in the morning, I love picking them up. I love that I have the hours in between to focus on the things that I'm really passionate about like MNTN and Maximum Effort," Reynolds added. "It is a juggling act." 

The Canadian star also has the pandemic to thank for giving him a look at what he was missing while he was away working. “I certainly don’t miss Zoom school,” he quipped. “But it was really lovely to have that insight and visibility into my kids’ real daily lives and for my wife as well.”  

In October, Reynolds announced that he was taking a break after wrapping the film Spirited. The same month, ET spoke with the star, who shared the hilarious deadline for his decision.

“For me, it’s really about getting some quality time with my kids before they’re teenagers who loathe me,” he joked at the time.   

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