Ryan Reynolds Thanks 'Genius' Wife Blake Lively in Speech at WSJ. Innovator Awards: 'She Pushes Me'
Ryan Reynolds can't thank Blake Lively enough for her support.
The Free Guy actor, 45, was recognized as an entertainment and entrepreneurship innovator at the WSJ. Magazine's 2021 Innovator Awards on Monday night at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. During his acceptance speech, Reynolds thanked his wife Lively, with whom he shares daughters James, 6, Inez, 5, and Betty, 2.
"I want to thank my wife, Blake," he said. "She is a genius. She's a renaissance woman. And she pushes me in ways I never imagined I'd be pushed." He then joked that the latter comment sounded like something that police should be involved in.
Other honorees at the event included Kim Kardashian West and Skims for brand, Lil Nas X for music, Lewis Hamilton for sports and Sesame Street for public service, among others.
Speaking with WSJ. Magazine for its November 2021 issue, Reynolds said he sometimes overworks himself professionally in order to not allow his mental health to become an issue.
"I tend to bite off way more than I could or should chew. I think maybe it's just that Canadian sensibility: 'Well, I said I was going to, so I have to deliver this,' " he said. "I will do that at the cost of my own well-being sometimes."
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"I fixate on things," Reynolds continued. "That's sort of the engine of anxiety. I lay awake at night, wrapping and unwrapping every possible scenario. I slept at a perfect right angle for so many years."
He added, "I tend to pave over anxiety with work and, to a lesser extent, achievement. You want to tick boxes sometimes."
Earlier in October, Reynolds announced that he would be taking "a little sabbatical" from moviemaking when he shared a behind-the-scenes shot from his upcoming Apple TV+ holiday movie Spirited.
He told WSJ. Magazine about the decision, saying he is looking to be more "present" within his life: "These days, my goal is to be as present as I can and not just tick a box just to do it. I'm fully embracing and living that right now. It's been amazing."