Actor Ryan Reynolds posted a sincere and heartfelt goodbye to a young Alberta friend on Facebook Thursday. Connor McGrath, 13, passed away Tuesday after a battle with cancer.
READ MORE: 13-year-old who met Ryan Reynolds in Edmonton dies after cancer battle
Reynolds started the post by expressing his admiration for the Edmonton teen.
The Vancouver-born actor first met McGrath earlier this year when the two were brought together through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Connor was battling cancer and had declared himself the biggest Deadpool fan on Earth. Reynolds was starring in a blockbuster film based on the comic.
WATCH ABOVE: Actor Ryan Reynolds visited Connor McGrath in an Edmonton hospital to watch Deadpool with him six weeks before the film was released. (FEB 14, 2016)
Reynolds decided to surprise Connor with a private screening of the movie in Edmonton in February.
READ MORE: Ryan Reynolds comes to Edmonton with Deadpool movie for boy in hospital
In his post, Reynolds describes how the two met:
“It was the Make-A-Wish Foundation that brought us together. I can’t thank them enough. Seriously. Thank you. Because of his wish, Connor was the first person to see Deadpool. I traveled up to Edmonton, Alberta to surprise him with a rough cut of the film. There were still huge sections with wires we hadn’t yet painted out, jokes which weren’t working (and still aren’t) and green screens. Connor didn’t seem to mind. And I’d never felt luckier to get to be Wade Wilson.”
Reynolds acknowledged the mature content of the film. “Before you jump down my throat for showing a 13 year old an R-Rated film, please know this kid knew more swear words than a British chef,” he wrote.
(Because of the copious amounts of profanity, violence, sexual content and graphic nudity, the film was given an R rating in the United States and an 18A rating in Manitoba and Ontario. It was only rated 14A in B.C., Alberta, and Saskatchewan.)
READ MORE: ‘I was speechless’: Edmonton teen speaks out about visit from Ryan Reynolds
But that wasn’t the end of their relationship.
Reynolds goes on to explain that the two kept in touch after the screening, “I went back to Edmonton 6 weeks later and I wish I could say things were looking up.
“After my visit, I didn’t know if I was saying goodbye or see ya later. Sitting here now, I realize it was both.”
Not only was the experience meaningful to Connor, it also had a huge impact on Reynolds.
“I’m grateful I got to orbit Connor’s world for a brief time. Grateful for the pages and pages of hilarious texts between us. Grateful to his parents for allowing Connor to spend time with a foul-mouthed child in the body of a 39 year old.”
In his post Reynolds explains how the two had nicknames for one another; that he called Connor “Bubba”, and Connor called him “Bubba2”. Reynolds ended his message with the statement, “See ya down the road, Bubba.”
Comments