Ryan Reynolds sends video to superhero-obsessed teenager after open heart surgery

Ryan Reynolds has made the day of a 13-year-old superhero fan from Newcastle, sending him a video message while he recovers from open heart surgery.

Seb Hollingsworth had to undergo surgery as a baby due to a heart defect and recently went under the knife again in an attempt to improve his heart function.

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His parents, who have raised thousands of pounds for the Children's Heart Unit at Freeman Hospital, sent a tweet asking for Marvel superhero actors to reach out to Seb.

Within 24 hours, Deadpool actor Reynolds responded and sent a personal video message to the brave youngster.

In a video posted to Twitter, Seb's father Ivan hands him a phone so that he can listen to the message from Reynolds.

"I know you've been going through it, pal. Sounds like you've got a tonne of amazing people who are in your corner and love you very much," said the Deadpool star.

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He added: "I just want to send you my well wishes and send you all my love. I hope we get to meet in person one of these days, pal.

"Hang in there, you're doing amazing and I'm super proud of you."

Ivan told ITV News that Reynolds was the perfect star to respond to his message, subsequently sharing a picture of Seb's room, which features posters of Reynolds as Deadpool and for his 2021 movie Free Guy.

He added: "It’s hard to explain how he feels because he is so so exhausted but it really meant the world to him.

"Ryan has since sent another follow up video which I can’t share, but it definitely made him chuckle.

"It’s just amazing that he’s taken the time to do it, and it’s not just for show, it means a lot."

Reynolds first played Deadpool way back in 2009 for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but has since joined the backlash to that critically reviled take himself.

He returned as a more comics-accurate and acerbic iteration of the character in the 2016 film Deadpool, as well as its 2018 sequel, which included a post-credits scene in which he murders his own previous incarnation in the role.

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The character's future has been uncertain since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, with his R-rated sensibilities an uncomfortable fit for the family-friendly Marvel Cinematic Universe.

However, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has confirmed that a script for Deadpool 3 was being written last year and that it would mark the MCU's first R-rated outing.

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