Ryan Reynolds has turned 42, and has celebrated with his usual brand of self-deprecating humour.
The Deadpool star took to Instagram with an adorable picture of himself as a little boy sitting before a birthday cake – mischievous grin instantly recognisable – alongside his dad (who looks very like his now famous son).
However, as fans of the quick-witted birthday boy can probably guess, his caption wasn’t going to be about anything nostalgic in a traditional sense…
Instead, Ryan captioned the cute pic with the following savage troll to himself:
Happy Birthday to me. Or as Dad used to affectionately say, ‘the condom broke’.
Whether or not Ryan’s dad actually used to make this salty joke, or whether this is from the imagination of the Green Lantern star himself, it’s easy to imagine this sort of banter going on in the Reynolds’ household.
This isn’t the first time Ryan has humorously referred back to his childhood with old photographs.
The Canadian actor recently shared a picture of himself with one of his brothers – as kids – seated together in a little yellow car.
With his signature dryness, Ryan – who’s the youngest of four brothers – deadpanned:
The first car my brother and I jacked together. I’ll never forget that bowl-cut. Or the sound of Dad screaming from the trunk.
All jokes aside, I reckon Ryan’s dad, Jim, would be super proud of his caring and talented son, who’s made people laugh all over the world, while breaking down mental health stigmas.
Jim sadly passed away back in 2015 after battling with Parkinson’s disease for 20 years.
Speaking with Mr Porter, Ryan opened up about his father’s personality, as well as his own ways of coping with grief:
My dad was a tough guy. He was good in many ways as well, but he was tough on us.
This is not meant to be some sob story — everyone carries their own bag of rocks around and I am no different in that regard — but growing up in my house, it was never relaxing or easy and I know that, throughout my life, I’ve dealt with anxiety in different ways.
My brothers and I are all very, very close and we all share a bit of that type of humour together. I’ll look for the joke in things so that I don’t look for the sadness and the grief.
Meanwhile fans have rushed forward to celebrate the alleged condom breakage in question, with one person suggesting, ‘Someone should make a monument for that condom’.
Another said:
Happy Birthday, Ryan! I am glad the condom broke. You are a good person and a great actor. You may been annoyance to your father, but you have been a Blessing to the world! [sic]
A separate person empathised:
Happy Birthday! I was also ‘not planned’ but it’s the happy little accidents that bring the most joy. [sic]
Some fans revealed his work had helped them through their own personal difficulties, while others had even baked cookies to mark their hero’s birthday:
Happy birthday Ryan!
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.