Ryan Reynolds Filmed His (Potentially Life-Saving) Colonoscopy

Ryan Reynolds is getting very personal in the hopes that it will help to save lives. The 45-year old Deadpool actor recently decided to record his first colonoscopy. He did this to highlight the importance of the preventative cancer screening procedure.

For those who don't know, a colonoscopy is performed with a camera inserted in to the rectum to look for abnormalities and changes in the large intestines. The preventative procedure is meant to detect health risks such as colon cancer, one of the leading cancer killers in America. Per the American Cancer Society, it's recommended that people with an average risk of colorectal cancer start regular screenings at age 45.

"It’s a simple step that could literally, and I mean literally, save your life," Ryan said during the video, in which he included his fellow soccer club owner Rob McElhenney, also 45. The duo teamed up with Lead From Behind, a new initiative hoping to spread the message that colon cancer is "the preventable cancer" and to break the stigma.

"I've been on camera a lot. But this was the first time one was shoved up my a--," Reynolds said. "The procedure and prep were painless but the discomfort of filming and sharing the process was the hardest part." In the video, Ryan shared the moments leading up to the procedure and his time in the recovery room, where his doctor dropped the news that he had found an "extremely subtle polyp."

"This was potentially life-saving for you — I’m not kidding; I’m not being overly dramatic," the doctor said. "This is exactly why you do this. You had no symptoms. You are interrupting the natural history of a disease of something of a process that could have ended up developing into cancer and causing all sorts of problems."

Watch the video below:

Ryan Reynolds thinks Disney should reconsider the ratings on a few of the studio's classic films. As Disney+ announced yesterday (July 21) that the R-rated Marvel movies Deadpool, Deadpool 2 and Logan will soon be available to stream on the service, Reynolds, who plays Deadpool, couldn't help but share his thoughts on the move.

"We're supposed to announce Logan and Deadpool will soon be the first R-rated movies on Disney+. But we all know some Disney movies should already be rated R for irreversible trauma," Reynolds tweeted.

See which Disney Classics Reynolds called out below:

"Breaking and entering. Borderline polyandry. Pretty sure those diamonds aren't cruelty-free."

"Total ugly-cry inducing straight up murder of Old Yeller. Also, bear abuse."

"Fratricide. Mauling. Very possibly half-sibling lovin', or at least kissin' cousins. Seriously."

"Cold-blooded killing of an innocent deer mom, that will cause lifelong trauma."