Image source: Getty/Rich Polk/E! Entertainment/NBC
Ryan Reynolds received the People’s Icon award at the People’s Choice Awards on Tuesday December 6, but he had something else on his mind: his pregnant wife, Blake Lively, back home. During his speech, Reynolds noted that if Lively gave birth to their fourth child while he was away at the event, he would be in deep trouble. Watch his full speech ahead of time.
Reynolds took time out to call out to his family during his speech, saying: “Blake and my three daughters, there will be a fourth child very soon. If it happens tonight while I’m here, I’ll look for a couch to sleep on for a while.” He joked, “I would guess Shania Twain has a great couch, just to say,” and looked at the singer, who won the music icons award earlier in the night.Reynolds and Lively already share James (7), Inez (6) and Betty (3).
But then Reynolds returned to the more serious task, continuing, “But Blake and my girls, you are literally my hope, my heart, my happiness. I joke that my family wears me out, but really they give me more strength than any human could ever deserve.”
At the beginning of the speech, Reynolds also paid tribute to his mother and three brothers – one of whom was his date for the evening – and his father, who passed away several years ago. “Boy if he could see all the things that were going on he wouldn’t be impressed by this stuff,” Reynolds said of his father, “he would have been the most blown away of his three little granddaughters.” He added, ” Wherever he is, I promise you, he’s probably not watching the People’s Choice Awards. Reynolds said: “To my original family, thank you for making me who I am. Thank you for your relentless support of me despite some bloody questionable years there.”
Reynolds also used his speech to name the people who work behind the scenes on his projects and his “work family” at his company, Maximum Effort. He spawned two of the group’s programs, The Group Effort Initiative and The Creative Ladder, which help underrepresented and marginalized creatives break into entertainment and marketing, respectively.
Reynolds’ “Free Guy” co-star Lil Rel Howery presented him with the People’s Icon Award. Previous winners include Halle Berry, who received it in 2021; Jennifer Lopez; Jennifer Aniston; and Melissa McCarthy.
Reynolds most recently starred in Apple TV+’s Spirited, a new adaptation of A Christmas Carol and the story of Scrooge. That year he also starred as himself in the documentary series “Welcome to Wrexham” about Wrexham AFC and his and actor Rob McElhenney’s decision to buy the team. He also starred in The Adam Project and made a brief cameo appearance in Bullet Train. He is currently preparing for the production of “Deadpool 3”.