Ryan Reynolds Thanks Wife Blake Lively And Kids In Earnest Award Speech

Movie star Ryan Reynolds, who has long used self-deprecating humor in public to wave away any sense of self-importance, accepted the People’s Icon trophy at the People’s Choice Awards on Tuesday with a heartfelt speech that did just that.

“I’d be pretty remiss if I didn’t mention that it starts with my family and it ends with my family,” said Reynolds of those who helped him reach the podium at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California.

“Blake and my girls, you are quite literally my heart, you’re my hope, you’re my happiness,” said Reynolds later in his speech. “I joke that my family exhausts me, but in reality you give me more strength than any man could possibly deserve.”

Reynolds and actor Blake Lively, who tied the knot in 2012, have three children, James, 7, Inez, 6, and Betty, 3. Lively announced in September that they’re expecting a fourth.

The “Deadpool” star joked earlier that he felt like he was at his own funeral, “except I get to leave.” He solemnly thanked his late father, who “wouldn’t be impressed with this stuff — he’d be most blown away by his three little granddaughters.”

“Wherever he is right now, he’s probably not watching the People’s Choice Awards,” joked Reynolds. “He cultivated most of his opinions in life from old episodes of ‘Baywatch,’ so he’s probably doing that, is my guess. But to my original family, thank you for making me who I am.”

Reynolds recently acquired Welsh soccer team Wrexham AFC and thanked his “work family” at his Maximum Effort production company for chronicling the endeavor in a docuseries.

He’s also launching two initiatives for “communities that have been historically discriminated against, overlooked or marginalized.” One, called Group Effort, helps people break into the entertainment industry. The other, Creative Ladder, is a marketing firm. The organizations are “a daily challenge, they’re a daily joy and they bring people together,” he said.

“The best people I know have been brought together by these organizations,” Reynolds continued. “I think it’s easy to say the world could certainly use a lot more togetherness right now.”