Ryan Reynolds admits ongoing struggles with anxiety

Image source, Getty Images

Ryan Reynolds has opened up about his ongoing mental health struggles - admitting that he's "always had anxiety".

The 41-year-old previously revealed he had a "bit of a nervous breakdown" after filming Deadpool in 2015.

To cope during interviews for the sequel, Deadpool 2, the actor now does most of the chats in character.

"When the curtain opens, I turn on this knucklehead, and he kind of takes over," he said.

In an interview with the ahead of the release of the superhero movie later this month, Ryan revealed he's always had anxiety.

Skip Instagram content
Allow Instagram content?

This article contains content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Instagram and before accepting. To view this content choose 'accept and continue'.

Warning: Third party content may contain adverts

End of Instagram content

"Both in the light-hearted 'I'm anxious about this' kind of thing, and I've been to the depths of the darker end of the spectrum, which is not fun," he said.

The actor also said he partied a lot during his 20s to try "to make myself vanish in some way".

He would often wake up in the night paralysed with anxiety, thinking about the future.

He got through it by self-medicating but chose to ease up on the partying after he lost a few of his friends to overdoses, according to the New York Times.

To deal with his anxiety during interview for his latest movie, the actor has now taken to channelling his Deadpool alter-ego as a "self-defence mechanism"

"I figure if you're going to jump off a cliff, you might as well fly," he added.

Follow Newsbeat on , and .

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 every weekday on ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 1 and 1Xtra - if you miss us you can listen back here.