Ryan Reynolds ''Trying to Get Better'' at Fatherhood and Marriage, Reflects on Lessons Learned After Death of His Father

Actor tells Men's Health he's trying to ''get better at being a dad and a husband and a man''

Between embracing the chaos that is parenthood with wife Blake Lively in late 2014 and coping with the death of his father in October, the past year has been particularly challenging for Ryan Reynolds.

Opening up to Men's Health, the March cover hunk discussed how he's coped with the major changes in his personal life. 

The 39-year-old actor compares raising daughter James to a wild ride, explaining, "During those first six months, it's amazing that you find a way to keep going. Just the lack of sleep, and the hallucinations. F--k peyote. You want to trip balls? Have a kid and see what it's like to be awake for a month straight."

Reynolds continued, "You'll have moments where you're like, 'Did I really ride a unicorn to work? I'm pretty sure I didn't, but I don't know. Was Willie Nelson cradling my testicles this morning? It probably wasn't him, but let me check his tour schedule just to be sure.'" 

The Deadpool star admits being a father has made him a "little bit insane," mentioning that, "I still check on her in the middle of the night and put my fingers under her nose just to make sure she's still breathing." 

In regards to his father—who passed away at 74 after battling Parkinson's disease—Reynolds remembers his last moments with him as "pretty valuable." 

"We had a deeply complicated relationship," he described, "and it leaves behind some questions that are still being answered. Not just about him but, you know... how I'm trying to get better at being a dad and a husband and a man."

Despite such hardships, Ryan found ultimate solace in his work. As the star of upcoming antihero-superhero flick Deadpool, Reynolds believe taking the part was "something I needed to do. Because I really identified with this character."

"I understand the idea of filtering pain through a prism of comedy," he added. "I think this character does that quite well... He wakes up in the morning exclusively to annoy everyone around him. But for your average civilian like me, I think there's something really relatable about that idea, that there's something to be learned by taking life a little less seriously."

For more from Reynolds, check out the next issue of Men's Health when it hits newsstands Feb. 2.