When I saw that People Magazine had given Ryan Reynolds the title of “Sexiest Dad Alive,” I developed a case of Hyperactive Eye-roll Syndrome. Of course People Mag would give him this nonsense title and of course they would do it in conjunction with the release of Deadpool, which comes out on Friday. But… then I read the quotes. And they’re sweet. Like, legitimately, no-bulls—t sweet. Ryan is so happy to be a husband and father. He adores his wife and daughter to a fantastic, aw-inducing degree.

Growing up, Ryan Reynolds was always surrounded by boys. The youngest of four boys and the son of a cop, Reynolds was “less a sibling and more of a moving target,” he tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. So when his wife, Blake Lively, gave birth to their daughter James, whom Reynolds adoringly calls “Shrimpie,” in December 2014, he was overjoyed.

“Having a daughter was a dream come true for me,” he says. “I would have made a terrible king.”

Reynolds, 39, says he has no problem “being surrounded by estrogen” as the only man in the house. In fact, it’s what the Deadpool star says he secretly hoped for when he first found out Lively, 28, was pregnant.

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

And Reynolds, PEOPLE’s former Sexiest Man Alive, says he’s been transformed into a completely doting dad.

“I don’t have to prepare to be wrapped around my daughter’s finger,” he says. “I have been wrapped around her little finger since the day she plopped out into this world.”

[From People]

That’s quite common though, isn’t it? I think many men really do “secretly” want a daughter when they learn that their partners are pregnant. And Ryan sounds so sweet here. Is it all for Deadpool promotion? Sure. But I also buy that he’s totally the happiest he’s ever been.

Meanwhile, there are a million other quotes and news items about Deadpool. Apparently, Ryan flashes his bits and pieces during one fight sequence, and he told E! News that he was fine with doing nudity: “There should be more male nudity in movies. I’m just saying that because women are typically exploited in the worst ways…so I feel like you got to kind of even it out a little bit. Although, yeah, I don’t know. Maybe we should limit all of it just a little bit.”

Ryan also spoke to Variety about Deadpool’s sexuality. In the comics, Deadpool is pansexual, or at the very least, bisexual. Deadpool comes on to men and women equally. But in the film, Deadpool is just straight and having sex with women. Well, in a rare step of sex-positivity, Ryan made a public statement saying that he would be totally fine with Deadpool having a boyfriend in the future. As in, maybe we’ll get some Deadpool-on-dude action in the sequel, which is already in the works.

Cover courtesy of People, additional photos by Getty.