Deadpool? More like Deadcool.
Ryan Reynolds was honored with the People's Icon Award at the 2022 People's Choice Awards on Dec. 6, officially joining the illustrious company of past recipients Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Aniston and Melissa McCarthy. Naturally, the notoriously quick-witted actor had the most hilarious yet heartfelt acceptance speech when he took the stage to at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. (See the complete list of winners here and all the stars on the red carpet here.)
"I feel like I'm at my funeral—except I get to leave," he quipped. "I guess I finally tested positive for icon. I've been avoiding it for years but here we are."
Jokes aside, Ryan made sure to show some love to wife Blake Lively, who is pregnant with the couple's fourth child, and their three daughters: James, 7, Inez 6, and Betty, 3.
"You're my heart. You're my hope. You're my happiness," he gushed. "I joke that my family exhausts me but, in reality, you give me more strength than any man could possibly deserve."
During his speech, Ryan also paid tribute to his mother Tammy Reynolds, his brothers and his father James C. Reynolds, who passed away in 2015 after battling Parkinson's disease for 20 years.
"If he could see all of the things that have been going on, he wouldn't be impressed with this stuff, he'd be most blown away by his three little granddaughters," Ryan said of the late patriarch. "To my original family, thank you for making me who I am. Thank you for your unfailing support of me despite some pretty, pretty damn questionable years there."
Ryan was announced as this year's People's Icon Award recipient in November. At the time, he joked to E! News that the title made him "feel like I'm getting old."
"For starters, that's it, you know?" the 46-year-old said during the New York City premiere of Spirited. "And then I realize, 'Yeah, I've been around.' I've been doing this job for over 30 years now. It's a long time to do anything. And I'm lucky that I've been able to do it for 30 years."
While Ryan admittedly does sometimes put on a snarky front—just ask his friend and trolling partner Hugh Jackman—the Deadpool star said he's actually very honored just to be recognized for his contributions to the entertainment industry.
"So much in the spirit of feeling grateful for the ability to do this job for this long and stay in the industry that can very quickly be done with you," he said. "I'm approaching that honor with the same kind of gratitude."
For more must-see moments, keep reading
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)