Ryan Reynolds Says He's Taking a Break from Making Movies to Create 'More Space for My Family'

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds is taking a step back after a successful year to spend more time with his wife and kids.

The actor — who starred in and produced the summer blockbuster Free Guy and whose latest film, Red Notice, hits Netflix Friday — explained to The Hollywood Reporter why he is planning a "sabbatical" from filmmaking.

"I'm just trying to create a little bit more space for my family and time with them," Reynolds, 44, told THR at Monday's WSJ. Magazine 2021 Innovator Awards. "You know, you don't really get that time back."

Reynolds is married to Blake Lively, and the two share three daughters: James, 6, Inez, 5, and Betty, 2.

Theo Wargo/Getty Ryan Reynolds

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While accepting his honor Monday as an entertainment and entrepreneurship innovator at the WSJ. Magazine Innovator Awards, Reynolds thanked Lively, 34.

"I want to thank my wife, Blake," he said during his acceptance speech. "She is a genius. She's a renaissance woman. And she pushes me in ways I never imagined I'd be pushed."

Reynolds finished production on the Apple TV+ film Spirited in October, and revealed on Instagram that he was taking a break after the project wrapped.

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"That's a wrap for me on Spirited. Not sure I'd have been ready to say yes to a film this challenging even three years ago," he wrote at the time. "Singing, dancing and playing in the sandbox with Will Ferrell made a whole lotta dreams come true. And this is my second film with the great @octaviaspencer…"

Reynolds continued, "Perfect time for a little sabbatical from movie making. I'm gonna miss every second working with this obscenely gifted group of creators and artists. These days, kindness matters as much as talent. I've been lucky to work with folks who are flush with both."

While Reynolds is taking a well-deserved break, he's still got plenty of projects in the works. After Red Notice premieres Friday, Reynolds' fans can look forward to seeing him in The Adam Project next year, a film from Stranger Things' producer Shawn Levy, which follows a man who travels back in time to consult with his teenage self.