Every teenager has rebellious moments that push against their parent’s authority, and The Adam Project’s Ryan Reynolds was no different. For a teenage Reynolds, it was getting an ear pierced. The only problem was that his strict police officer father was against it. While one might think they know how the situation ended up, things actually played out differently than expected. And as the Hollywood star explained, this was due to the “beautiful” way his brothers protected him after he went ahead and got his ear pierced without permission.
The Free Guy actor spilled all the details about the brother’s keeper moment while being interviewed on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman (via ET). The Canadian actor explained that he was 12 years old when he got the desire to get his ears pierced. He revealed his plan to one of his older brothers, who shared some honest thoughts on the matter. Speaking about his brother’s reaction, the Hollywood star recalled:
My brother said, ‘You’re going to die. You’re going to show up at dinner tonight and there will be a messy stabbing death because Dad is going to take one of the utensils and stab you.’
Despite the warning from his big bro, the actor went ahead with his quest for a piercing. He eventually made the trip alongside a friend and their mom. Ryan Reynolds jokingly admitted he may or may not have been influenced by the 1980s pop duo Wham! After completing the task, an overwhelming sense of panic washed over him as he sat down for dinner with his family, including his father. Fortunately, Reynolds’ brothers pulled off a feat of solidarity that softened the blow:
I get to the dinner table and I remember sweat was dripping down my lap and I’m looking down and I can feel his gaze hit me. He mutters some swear word under his breath, and I look up and I look around and I see that all three of my brothers had gotten an earring to sorta save me. … Yeah, one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life.
Sometimes, the group has to sacrifice themselves to save one. That’s what being an older sibling is all about after all. Being the youngest son, his three older brothers didn’t want him to get all the heat from their tough-as-nails dad. And it’s a good thing he did tell them his plan, as it allowed the brothers time to make their own move. There’s nothing like good, old-fashioned brotherly love.
This isn’t the first time Ryan Reynolds has opened up about his complicated relationship with his father, who passed away in 2015. Not only has he discussed it in interviews, it’s also bled into his work.. The father-son relationship recently popped up in his hit Netflix film The Adam Project. Reynolds explained that the time-traveling sci-fi film does indeed tie into his real past with his deceased father, an element that surely added another emotional layer to the project for him..
It seems the Hollywood star has pivoted from his pop’s parental style to forge something different for his own family, though. The Detective Pikachu star is more of a jokester with three daughters, especially when weaning them off the Baby Shark phenomenon. Of course, he’s had more than his share of parenting help from wife Blake Lively, who he credits with keeping him and their family on track and helping him write some of his hit films. The two have seemingly formed a tight family unit, and I’d expect that they won’t be too strict when one of their daughters does something a bit rebellious in their own teen years.
For more Ryan Reynolds, check out The Adam Project with a Netflix subscription look out for his Christmas musical, Spirited, which drops later this year on Apple TV+.