Ryan Reynolds Explains Why He Let His 9 Year Old Watch His R-Rated Film

When it comes to choosing what to let their children watch, many parents stick to age-appropriate, family-friendly movies, television shows and other media. However, some have a more lenient approach and allow their kids to occasionally watch something a bit heavier. One such parent is Ryan Reynolds , who recently explained why he let his and wife Blake Lively 's 9-year-old daughter watch his latest R-rated film.

In a new interview with the New York Times , Reynolds shared a story of how he watched his upcoming superhero film Deadpool & Wolverine , the third installment in the Deadpool franchise, with his mom, Tammy , and his eldest child, James , despite the film having a "R" rating, calling it one of the "best moments" he's experienced, per Entertainment Tonight .

"I'm not saying that other people should do this, but my 9-year-old watched the movie with me and my mom, who's in her late 70s, and it was just one of the best moments of this whole experience for me," he said. "Both of them were laughing their guts out, were feeling the emotion where I most desperately hoped people would be."

Noting that the film doesn't only use its "R" rating for shock value but also helps tell a "much more authentic" story "than you could if you were bound by a PG-13 rating," the "Free Guy" star shared how watching movies geared more toward adult audiences while he was still a child helped shape the way he views a film's impact and inspired his own filmmaking.

"When I saw rated-R movies when I was a kid, they left a huge impression on me because I didn't feel like people were pulling punches and it's been a huge inspiration to so many of the things that I look to make now," he said.

Deadpool & Wolverine arrives in theaters July 26.