Ryan Reynolds on Being Inspired by His Kids & Casting ‘Dogpool’ (Exclusive)

On Monday, Ryan Reynolds stepped out for the NYC premiere of his new movie “IF.”

“Extra’s” Tommy DiDario spoke with Ryan, who shared that his kids have allowed him to keep his imagination for a movie like this!

“I feel like my own kids have kind of given me a second wind of that,” Ryan commented. “Shawn Levy, who I’m doing ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ [with], and every other movie it seems, he really pointed that out. He said, ‘You’re doing Betty, your four-year-old daughter, in this movie. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I kind of am.'”

Reynolds continued, “So I take a ton of inspiration from my kids. It unlocks a whole other crazy avenue… I think kids kind of help you sort of open a new chapter in the book.”

Mentioning his “Spirited” co-star Will Ferrell, Ryan shared, “He’s a guy that can snap into being a kid in like one second and then snap out of it and into like an unmitigated rage in another one. It’s one of my favorite things about him.”

Reynolds also praised John Krasinski, who directed “IF.” He said, “He really did such an amazing job.”

Ryan recalled John’s movie pitch, saying, “The movie became exactly what we talked about when he pitched it to me the first time in my kitchen a few years ago. That rarely happens. Movies kind of take on a whole other life of their own and they go different directions, but this one is exactly what… I said to him at that time, ‘It feels like a live-action Pixar movie.’ Like, if you could make a movie have that same kind of emotional punch but live action, that’s what this felt like.”

Reynolds also spoke about his upcoming movie “Deadpool & Wolverine” and how they found “Dogpool” with a Google search!

He dished, “We were looking for a dog that kind of looked like Deadpool under the mask… So we did — honestly, this is the dumbest thing you’re going to hear — it was a Google search. We found the ugliest dog in the U.K., and that was her. Peggy is her name and she is, indeed, I guess, the ugliest dog in the U.K. but the most lovable thing you’ll ever see when you meet her in person, and she looks just like me with the prosthetic makeup on… So for my character, he’s like in love with this dog because he finally found someone who looks as hideous as he does.”

When Tommy asked if his daughters are going to adopt the dog now, Ryan quipped, “My kids would love that. Are you kidding?… The owners of Peggy would probably charge a mint, as they should.”