Ryan Reynolds has spoken publicly about his late father's battle with Parkinson's disease, revealing the complexities of their relationship and the impact of his father's hallucinations and delusions.
In an exclusive interview with People, Reynolds shared that his father, James Chester Reynolds, was diagnosed with Parkinson's when Ryan was just 22 years old.
However, the family rarely discussed the disease, and Reynolds' father struggled with denial and hiding his symptoms.
“There was a ton of denial, a ton of hiding,” said the Deadpool and Wolverine actor said.
As the disease progressed, James experienced hallucinations and delusions, which Reynolds says "destabilized" their already complicated relationship. Reynolds admits he didn't understand what was happening at the time and thought his father was "losing his mind."
Retynolds went on to share, “And as I’m older now, I look back at it, and I think of it more as that was my unwillingness at the time to meet him where he was. I could have maybe been there with him toward the end, and I wasn’t. He and I just drifted apart, and that’s something I’ll live with forever.”
To note, Reynolds’ dad died in 2015 at age 74 after fighting with the disease for nearly 20 years.
“I sent my dad a letter about five months before he died, which I’m very grateful I did. The letter was basically a list of every amazing thing he ever did.”
So I’m super grateful that I sent that letter. I know for a fact it meant the world to him. So I did get that closure, but I wasn’t with him when he passed away, and I do wish I was.
Reynolds has partnered with the educational campaign More to Parkinson's to raise awareness about the disease and its lesser-known symptoms.
