Ryan Reynolds regularly surprises fans of his and this week was no different.
The Canadian actor heard about 9-year-old Damien Smith in Shuswap who said he was worried he’d have no friends and wasn’t excited to celebrate his birthday on Nov. 24 after his family moved from Lower Mainland to Salmon Arm.
His parents then put out a call for birthday cards, with his mom Tiffanie Trudell saying the family was bombarded with cards and presents.
“We stopped counting at like 1,200 and we’ve gotten over like 100 packages of presents for him. They came from everywhere from Australia, all over America and Canada,” she told NEWS 1130.
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The news even reached Reynolds, who’d heard Damien’s favourite movie was “Deadpool”.
“I relate to your story a lot because I also went to a new school when I was a kid, a couple of them actually. And I remember how alienating that felt, and I remember how alone I felt and unseen I felt,” Reynolds told the youngster.
Adding, “As I become a borderline grown up, I would say that one of the things I’ve come to realize is that when you feel your suffering and when you feel bad about something, usually it’s because you feel like you’re the only one usually it’s because you feel like you’re totally alone.”
Reynolds also said he believed people around the world liked Damien’s story because they could relate.
The star shared, “I guess the point is that you’re not alone.”
"I was in complete shock. It was really awesome." 9-yo Damien Smith is celebrating his bday today with +1200 cards from around the world & a message from @VancityReynolds. Damien recently moved to the Shuswap, & struggled to adjust, prompting his dad to ask for help. @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/diQFTidcDz
— Tarnjit Parmar (@Tarnjitkparmar) November 25, 2020
Damien’s mom told Castanet how Reynolds actually sent the video message last month and she had to “keep this a secret for a month and a half.”
She added of her son’s reaction to the clip, “In his words, he was shocked and his whole body was frozen. It was neat to see his facial expression change when he realized who was on the TV.”
