Ryan Reynolds Cheers up Boy Without Friends on His Birthday

Moving can be hard on kids. Youâre in a new school, your old friends are gone, and it can take some time to get adjusted. Moving right before a birthday sucks even more, and just serves to amplify that lonely feeling. An 8-year-old boy in British Columbia (thatâs in Canada, for you less than Cosmopolitan types) was struggling after a recent move and was worried about turning 9 without any friends. So his parents put the call out on social media to have strangers send him cards, so his birthday would still be special.
Turns out he got 1,000 of them. And even better, movie star Ryan Reynolds sent the boy a video message relating to his struggle and wishing him a happy birthday. Letâs pause 10 seconds for our routine Ryan Reynolds appreciation. The Deadpool star, and girl-dad seemingly has a heart of freaking gold. He (and his wife Blake Lively) have donated millions this year to charities supporting COVID-19 response and charities focused on children. Reynolds helped reunite a child with his lost toy, bought a soccer team with Always Sunny star Rob McElhenney, and also found the time to write 400 thank you notes to the crew working on his new movie during the pandemic. He even went above and beyond to connect with a Deadpool cosplayer. And this isnât even covering half of the great stuff heâs done this year.
So we are not surprised that Reynolds would make little Damienâs birthday one he will never forget.
Reynolds, who is also Canadian, told Damien he relates to his story because he went to a new school when he was a kid (a few of them) and remembers how alienating it felt. âI remember how alone I felt and unseen I felt,â he said.
âI guess the point is that youâre not alone.â
Reynolds wished him a happy birthday and said he hopes he gets to meet him in person one of these days.
His family told local media they were blown away by the message and were thrilled to see Damienâs expression change when he realized what was going on. They said the entire project of making their kidâs birthday extra special left them feeling profoundly grateful.
Now Damien can proudly go to school knowing Deadpool himself took the time to wish him a happy birthday.