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Ryan Reynolds grants terminally ill five-year-old's dying wish

Ryan Reynolds is just as much of a hero off camera as when he plays Deadpool.

(Photo: Gtres)
(Photo: Gtres)

The Marvel star has granted a terminally ill five year old British boy his dying wish by FaceTiming him from the set of Deadpool 2.

Daniel Downing was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour during a routine trip to the optician. Though his parents assumed he needed glasses, it was discovered he had cancer and Daniel is now battling through the final months of his life.

The youngster is a huge fan of Ryan’s wise-cracking alter ego and his mother Stephanie came up with the idea of making her son’s dream come true by getting him in touch with the Hollywood star.

This 2016 hit did so much more than redeem the title character after 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine.' It also revived Ryan Reynolds' career, and became the biggest hit in the 'X-Men' series, proving there's still a huge audience for R-rated movies. (Picture credit: 20th Century Fox)
(Picture credit: 20th Century Fox)

Stephanie explained that when Daniel realised his idol was on the phone, he asked to FaceTime him, and Ryan complied, chatting to her son for over 15 minutes and showing the sick youngster around the set of the movie.

‘As soon as Daniel realised (who was on the phone), he asked if he could FaceTime him and then he was very, very hyper.

‘All the camera crew waved hello and Daniel had his Mr Pool T-shirt on (like the Mr Men but for Deadpool). Daniel was telling Ryan how poorly he’d been and how his friends had helped him feel better. He had to dash off to film, but that was good really… Daniel gets tired very quickly.’ she told her local paper The Plymouth Herald.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds (Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images).
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds (Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images).

Stephanie admitted she was ‘blown away’ by the Canadian actor making the effort to call her son.

‘I messaged his assistant to say how eternally grateful we all are for him taking the time out to talk to Daniel. It was absolutely fantastic. I’m so happy for Daniel – it’s something he wouldn’t normally have been able to do and he was so excited. He told all his friends and his teachers. It’s nice to see him so excited because he has been a bit down lately.’

It’s not the first time that Ryan, 40, has befriended a sick fan.

Ryan Reynolds made a sick fan’s wish come true (Instagram)
Ryan Reynolds made a sick fan’s wish come true (Instagram)

He met terminally ill Connor McGrath and his family through the Make-A-Wish foundation three years ago.

He paid tribute to the teenager after he died, writing on Instagram: ‘I called Connor, “Bubba”. And he called me “Bubba2”. We met because he loved Deadpool. In a certain sense he WAS Deadpool. Or, at least everything Deadpool aspires to be; balancing pain, fearlessness, love and a filthy (filthy!) sense of humor in one body. I wish he could’ve stuck around a lot longer.’

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