Ryan Reynolds Jokes About Performing Fewer Stunts in Films Now: 'Things Start to Hurt' at My Age

"After I turned 35, being thrown onto cement wasn’t hilarious anymore. It had been upgraded to hell," Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds joked to Variety

By

Jen Juneau

Published on February 17, 2022 01:57PM EST

Ryan Reynolds might be leaning on a stunt double a little more going forward.

The Adam Project star recently opened up to Variety about how the "physicality" in some of his films — for example, the upcoming Deadpool 3 — is something he "really like(s)." But as he gets older, the actor feels he has to keep things in perspective.

"I think it's important to do as much of [the stunt work] yourself as you can, but I'll step aside when there's something that's just too gnarly and there's a trained professional ready to go," said Reynolds, 45.

The actor went on to joke, "You're not allowed to eat Advil like cereal."

"Things start to hurt," Reynolds said. "After I turned 35, being thrown onto cement wasn't hilarious anymore. It had been upgraded to hell."

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Before Deadpool, the father of three starred in 2015's Self/less, a psychological sci-fi thriller where he was able to show off his fighting skills.

And even then, he told PEOPLE at the time, "I'm right at that age where I'll do as many takes as they want, but I'm lying on the ground after each one thinking, 'Oh, God. Just get up and get up fast. Don't let them see you [in pain].' "

Even so, he said he "love(s) doing the fight stuff," explaining, "So much of it is character-based, so you want to be a part of that and put your fingerprints on that and do it as much as possible."

But he admitted he knows his limits, especially after breaking two vertebrae while filming the 2012 action-thriller Safe House with Denzel Washington: "I certainly don't jump in and do anything that's really dangerous."

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"There are some stunts I didn't do in Self/less, like the scene where a building explodes and I come flying out of it," Reynolds added at the time. "That kind of stuff I just don't mess around with. Even if I wanted to do it, I don't think they would let me."

That's when he leaves it to the pros.

"I have a great stunt guy, Daniel Stevens, who does that stuff and does it really well," he said.

The Adam Project is streaming on Netflix March 11.