‘Deadpool’ Tragedy: Ryan Reynolds Shares A tribute To His Biggest Fan
Never let it be said that Ryan Reynolds isn’t connected to his fans on a deeply personal level. As much can be seen in the way in which the Deadpool actor reacted to news that one of his biggest fans, 13-year-old Connor McGrath, passed away. Reynolds dropped everything to respond to the sad news within days of the child’s passing to pen a public letter honoring the young cancer victim. Reynolds reveals an emotional connection to a friend he might never have met, if not for the magic of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, as he writes about Connor in the hopes that we all might know this remarkable boy, even after his tragic passing.
Deadpool Star Ryan Reynolds Breaks Hearts With His Letter To Connor McGrath
“For three straight years, my friend, Connor McGrath drop-kicked cancer… Not sure how… Maybe the cancer cheated… But the fight came to an end two nights ago,” said the Deadpool actor in a written goodbye letter to McGrath.
“In my wildest dreams, I can’t imagine how hard this is for his parents Kim and Gerald – along with his extended family in Newfoundland,” Reynolds added, showing respect to the family in their time of loss.
The heartfelt letter penned by Ryan proves that the Deadpool actor took the time to genuinely get to know Connor in ways that adults rarely take the time to do with younger generations. Reynolds appreciated Connor for the person he might have been, if cancer hadn’t limited his life in so many ways.
“Connor was 13. But this kid… He was smart. He was funny. And not just funny ‘for a kid’ – or funny ‘for a person battling something awful’. He was unqualified funny. He had that… thing.”
Ryan Reynolds Shares An Unlikely Friendship With This Deadpool Fan
Reynolds goes on to describe a genuine friendship and good times shared between them that transcended the usual relationship between actor and fan.
“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,” wrote the Deadpool actor.
Mr. Reynolds’ grief can be felt in his words as he shares the special moments and the closeness he shared with Connor McGrath throughout the child’s brave struggle against cancer. The close friendship shared between Connor and Ryan is also shared in the pictures posted by Reynolds. The two unlikely friends, who were brought together by their love for Deadpool, can be seen sharing laughs and good times over the three years the two had known each other.
“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 humour in one body,” remarks Mr. Reynolds in his tribute to Connor McGrath. “I wish he could’ve stuck around a lot longer.”
At the time of Connor’s passing, his family had been trying to raise the $800,000 necessary to pay for an experimental chemotherapy treatment at Philidelphia’s Children’s Hospital. The McGrath family had only been able to raise $35, 522.
[Image by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]
