Ryan Reynolds shared why his and Blake Lively’s four kids James, Inez, Betty and Olin play a huge role in the fate of the Deadpool franchise.

For Ryan Reynolds, “Dad” will always be his favorite role.

And that is why the Deadpool actor—who shares daughters James, 9, Inez, 7, Betty, 5, and son Olin, born in 2023 with wife Blake Lively—is clear about prioritizing being present in their lives over churning out blockbuster movies.

“I have four kids, and I don’t ever want to be an absentee [dad],” he told Andrew Garfield in an interview for Variety’s “Actors on Actors” published Dec. 9. “I kind of die inside when I see their faces and they do a sports thing or something and I missed it.”

In addition to wanting to be there for his growing family during the big and small moments, Ryan was candid about the fact that the fate of Deadpool as a franchise is complicated.

“I don’t know what the future of Deadpool will be,” he continued, “but I do know that we made the movie to be a complete experience instead of a commercial for another one.”

While there’s no doubt that viewers will be crossing their fingers for a fourth addition to the Deadpool series, Ryan’s close friend and Deadpool & Wolverine costar Hugh Jackman could attest to his commitment to his family life. And the Greatest Showman star has also joined in on the family fun.

“I’ve spent many hours with them, like in pajamas just hanging out in their house with their nine hundred children and dogs and it is just as normal as can be,” Hugh—who shares son Oscar, 23, and daughter Ava, 19, with ex Deborra-lee Furness—told Vogue in August of Ryan and Blake. “And Blake will be baking and cooking and saying, ‘Let’s make pizza,’ and then the next thing you turn around, and there she is, this incredible star. It’s…it’s astonishing to me.”

But fatherhood wasn’t always so simple for Ryan, whose own father passed away nearly 10 years ago after a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s Disease. While the IF actor’s relationship with his father, James Chester Reynolds, wasn’t perfect, he’s been able to use their experiences as learning opportunities for his own parenting style.

“I get to show up,” he told People in an interview published Aug. 15. “And even though I may have an instinct when my kid is acting out or telling me I’m the worst — my father’s instinct would be to shut that kid off. My dad would retreat into the power of silence, and that is not the way to acknowledge your kid.”

Rather, Ryan is committed to leading with love during every high and low moment with his kids.

“To be able to get down on their level and just tell them that I believe them and that I’m here for them,” he continued. “That they can’t go do the thing that they’re asking to do — but at the same time, I’m willing to sit here and hear them out and feel whatever they’re going through.”

Keep reading for more of Ryan and Blake’s thoughts on parenthood.