Ryan Reynolds, sexiest dad alive, gushes about baby daughter James

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Actors Blake Lively, left, and Ryan Reynolds attend a “Deadpool” fan event at AMC Empire Theatre on Feb. 8, 2016 in New York City ahead of the Marvel film’s release.

(Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images)

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Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively arrive for the screening of Reynolds’ film “The Captive” at the Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2014. (Valery Hache / AFP/Getty Images)

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Lively and Reynolds announced on Preserve, Lively’s just-launched lifestyle site, that they’re expecting their first child. She simply shared a snap of herself cradling her belly, crashing the fledgling site for several hours. Here, they attend the 2014 Angel Ball on Oct. 20, 2014. (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation)

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Blake Lively steps out for the first time since announcing that she and husband Ryan Reynolds are expecting a baby, attending the God’s Love We Deliver, Golden Heart Awards in New York on Oct. 16, 2014. (Mike Coppola / Getty Images for Michael Kors)

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Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively attend the “Charles James: Beyond Fashion” Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2014, in New York City. Lively is wearing Gucci, the Italian design house for which she served as a spokeswoman. (Mike Coppola / Getty Images)

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Ryan Reynolds, second from left, and Blake Lively appear on stage at the “Chime for Change: The Sound Of Change Live” concert on June 1, 2013, in London. The girls’ and women’s empowerment campaign was founded by Gucci, the Italian design house for which Lively was a spokeswoman. (Ian Gavan / Getty Images for Gucci)

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Stars Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds arrive at the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Green Lantern” at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on June 15, 2011, in Hollywood. After Reynolds split with wife Scarlett Johansson, he and Lively began dating and then wed in September 2012. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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“Green Lantern” costars Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds speak onstage during the 2011 MTV Movie Awards at Universal Studios’ Gibson Amphitheatre on June 5, 2011, in Universal City. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Ryan Reynolds accepts the award for Most Anticipated Movie from presenter Blake Lively onstage during Spike TV’s “Scream 2010” at the Greek Theatre on Oct. 16, 2010, in Los Angeles. (Michael Caulfield / Getty Images)

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Ryan Reynolds and costar Blake Lively speak onstage at the “Green Lantern” panel discussion during Comic-Con 2010 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 24, 2010. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

By Nardine SaadStaff Writer

Feb. 10, 2016 5:52 PM PT

Doting Deadpool! Ryan Reynolds shared some sweet words about his daughter James in his latest round of promotional appearances, gushing about his 1-year-old and his wife.

The “Deadpool” star, who plays Marvel’s foul-mouthed mercenary in this Friday’s new release, was named People magazine’s Sexiest Dad Alive -- an evolution of his 2010 Sexiest Man Alive title.

“Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon unveiled the 39-year-old’s latest magazine cover Tuesday night.

“I mean, scientifically speaking, what’s sexier than a man that fornicates, produces children and then looks surprised about it?” Reynolds quipped on the show.

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In the mag, Mr. Blake Lively said having a daughter was “a dream come true,” which would have made him a “terrible king.”

“I never admitted it out loud, to myself or my wife, but I really wanted a little girl,” he said. “It’s the best.”

Reynolds and Lively have taken social media by storm since the birth of their little girl, and while he and the “Gossip Girl” alum have fielded questions about James during promotional appearances, they’ve fiercely protected her privacy by posting only strategically-shot photos concealing her face.

Last September, Reynolds said in the October issue of GQ that he cut off one of his closest friends because the guy attempted to shop around photos of James.

While doing his promotional rounds this week, Reynolds also opened up about his romance with his wife, whom he met on the set of 2011’s “Green Lantern.” He was still married to “Avengers” star Scarlett Johansson at the time, and Lively had been linked to her “Gossip Girl” costar Penn Badgley. After Reynolds and Johansson split and then finalized their divorce in July 2011, he and Lively sparked up a romance, then wed in South Carolina in September 2012.

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“We were buddies then,” Reynolds said of their time on the “Green Lantern,” during Entertainment Weekly’s Sirius XM show. “I remember it was funny, because for about a year after ‘Green Lantern’ had come and gone, and all that stuff, we were both single. We went on a double date. She was on a date with another guy and I was on a date with another girl.

“That was the most awkward date [for the other guy and girl] ... probably because we were just like fireworks coming across,” Reynolds said, laughing. “It was weird at first, but we were buddies for a long time. I think it’s the best way to have a relationship, is to start as friends.”

The duo stepped out together on Monday for a fan screening of “Deadpool,” marking their first joint appearance on a red carpet in some time. They last walked a red carpet together in October 2014, when Lively was still pregnant.

At another event, the “Age of Adaline” actress, 28, got cheeky with her husband, posting a racy snapshot of Reynolds sitting on a Deadpool throne and cupping her breast.

“Two Deadpools, one cup. Your turn [Deadpool],” she wrote.

Follow me on Twitter @NardineSaad.