Karan Soni comments on Ryan Reynolds' growth as a father: 'His heart has grown even more'

Karan Soni stars in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ alongside Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.

At the New York City premiere of the latest Deadpool film, actor Karan Soni spoke to PEOPLE about his close relationship with Ryan Reynolds, noting the positive changes he's observed in Reynolds since he became a father of four.

Soni, 35, described how Reynolds' heart has "grown even bigger" since welcoming his children. "I think honestly, to me, him having his kids has really, I've seen that his heart has just grown even bigger than it was before," said Soni. 

"And I think the success of the first movie at the time that it came in his career, to me, I feel like he really appreciated it after all the craziness of everything."

Soni emphasised the dedication Reynolds puts into the Deadpool films. "And I think he's really put his entire energy into it and his whole heart into it, and these movies weirdly are so crass, but they have so much heart, and it all comes from him," he added.

The original Deadpool film premiered in 2016, followed by its sequel in 2018. Reynolds, 47, and his wife Blake Lively welcomed their first daughter, James, on December 16, 2014, followed by their second daughter, Inez, on September 30, 2016. They are also parents to Betty, 4, and a fourth baby born in February 2023.

Soni shared memories of Reynolds' children visiting the set of Deadpool 2. "There was like a scene in the second one where everyone's auditioning for X-Force, and he had one of his daughters come, and it was the cutest," Soni recalled. 

"He was like, 'We're just going to pause for five minutes, and she's going to audition, right?' And it was like the sweetest thing, and I was like, this is melting my heart."

Playing taxi driver Dopinder in the franchise, Soni expressed his gratitude for being part of the Deadpool world. "I feel so bonded to Ryan from that first movie," he said. "You know, when we made the first movie, it was almost like an indie superhero movie at the time. 

So it was this really crazy thing that we were doing our scrappy little thing, and it's become this big thing now. So, the first movie is always super close to me."

Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters on Friday, July 26.