Actor, husband to Blake Lively, and seemingly all-around great guy Ryan Reynolds has done it again. He’s made us smile and cry today with his sweet and funny 2020 commencement speech for Kitsilano Secondary School Vancouver, British Columbia.
While these graduates won’t get to walk across a stage and pick up a diploma, as a graduate of Kitsilano, Reynolds is hoping his virtual speech will make up for not having that big moment.
In his speech, taped in a very groovy wood-paneled room or Zoom background (where he’s quarantining with Lively and their daughters and coloring Lively’s hair) he told students that he’s still friends with many of the people he graduated with, and that the school was the “best thing that ever happened to him.”
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He also hoped to impart one lesson, saying, “If I can pass on this one little chestnut of wisdom, it's something that you might want to start if you're not already doing it. Totally up to you, no pressure but one thing that's worked for me is practicing some form of compassion every day whether it’s for yourself or someone, especially for someone else, is good."
He expanded on the topic of compassion, joking, "Some of you might consider me successful. I don't know some of you might've seen Green Lantern, but I'll tell you this: empathy has gotten me so much more, so much farther.”
Reynolds shared that empathy, which is something he will always strive for, has made his life better in many ways, including friends, money and memories, and that “it's allowed me to fully accept and provide love. It's helped me recognize the mistakes I've made and learn from them. Above all, it made me happy.”
On a less serious note, he wrapped up by apologizing to anyone watching who was hoping for more "dick jokes," promising that he'd saved those for their university commencement speech.
“Not that you have to go to university,” he added, shaking his head. “God knows I didn’t.”
The video ended with a crawl saying that Reynold’s missed local fave Nat’s Pizza, and every graduate would get a large pizza on him. Hard to top free pizza — the ball is in your court, other celebs.