Ryan Reynolds opens up on battle with anxiety

Actor Ryan Reynolds has opened up about his struggles with anxiety. Photo / Getty Images

Ryan Reynolds has revealed he had a 'nervous breakdown' in 2016 after filming Deadpool, and says he's always struggled to deal with stressful situations.

In an interview with The New York Times newspaper, he admitted: "I have anxiety. I've always had anxiety. Both in the lighthearted 'I'm anxious about this' kind of thing, and I've been to the depths of the darker end of the spectrum, which is not fun."

However, as soon as he is on set acting all of his worries go away.

He added: "When the curtain opens, I turn on this knucklehead. And he kind of takes over and goes away again once I walk off set."

The 'Proposal' star - who has two daughters, James, three, and 18-month-old Ines, with wife Blake Lively - felt it was important to go to the doctor after filming wrapped on the first movie and it was then that he was told he suffers from anxiety, the Daily Mail reports.

At the time, he shared: "I felt like I was on some schooner in the middle of a white squall the whole time. It just never stopped.

"When it finally ended, I had a little bit of a nervous breakdown. I literally had the shakes. I went to go see a doctor because I felt like I was suffering from a neurological problem or something. And every doctor I saw said, 'You have anxiety.'

"I say this with the caveat that I completely recognise the ridiculously fortunate position that I am in. But the attention is hard on your nervous system - that might be why I live out in the woods. And I was banging the loudest drum for 'Deadpool'. I wasn't just trying to open it; I was trying to make a cultural phenomenon."