Ryan gifts seniors at alma mater free pizza

Ryan Reynolds gave an inspiring speech to the Class of 2020 from his alma mater, Kitsilano Secondary School in Vancouver — and gifted every student a free large pizza from his favourite local pizza spot.

The star spoke to students via video link, where he opened up about the lifelong friends he made from the school, and gave his advice for the graduates as they enter a new phase in their lives. “If I can pass on this one little chestnut of wisdom, it’s something that you might want to start if you’re not already doing it,” he said. “Totally up to you, no pressure but one thing that’s worked for me is practicing some form of compassion every day whether its’ for yourself or someone, especially for someone else, is good.”

The Green Lantern star continued: “You’ve heard the expression ‘divide and conquer,’ you see it everywhere and dividing people is just a means to distract them, disarm them, whereby giving one an opportunity to conquer, and the world seems to subsist on this idea more and more and more. And it’s getting really f---ing boring.

“It’s just overdone and I think that you guys want to be stylish and ahead of the curve. And I believe that your generation will be. So maybe practice the opposite, practice empathy,” he said. “To my surprise (empathy) has made me money, friends, priceless memories. It’s allowed me to fully accept and provide love. It’s helped me recognize the mistakes I’ve made and learn from them. Above all it made me happy. It’s something I’ll probably be working on my whole life.”

Ryan has been active in supporting COVID-19 relief efforts since the outbreak began, with him and wife Blake Lively donating $1 million to help those in need.