Ryan Reynolds' 'scary' father

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Ryan Reynolds' 'scary' father

Ryan Reynolds thought his father was "scary".

'The Proposal' star - who is expecting his first child with his wife, Blake Lively - has admitted that his dad worked incredibly "tirelessly" to provide for their family.

He said: "[He was] the toughest man alive: a former cop, former boxer and full-time land mine. He worked tirelessly to provide for his family and in return, you were expected to do what he said, often before he said it.

"In a word, he was scary. Not because he was sadistic or physically abusive. He was scary because he was one of those people with an energetic 'weight' to him."

The 38-year-old actor explained that as a young boy, he was "terrified" to get a gold stud earring and his brothers even tried to convince him not to do it.

Writing in Time magazine's 'Time for Thanks' column about the moment he sat down at the table with his father after it had been done, he said: "The little gold earring felt like it was flashing ember-red, as if to say, 'LOOK AT ME!!! Over here! Your son is a tool! You raised a future Zen-garden salesman who collects artisanal bongs!'"

"I could see he wasn't just looking at me. His confused eyes darted spastically between all four boys in shock, disbelief and directionless anger.

"What he was in fact looking at, were four young men, sitting at a dinner table, each, with a freshly pierced ear."