Los Angeles, Aug 6 (IANS): Actor Ryan Reynolds has praised his wife Blake Lively, insisting she was a "mercenary" when she gave birth to their daughter James.

The “Deadpool” star has admitted Lively was "cracking jokes" throughout the birth.

"My wife is the real, I mean she is a mercenary. At one point in the middle of the delivery, the doctor's cell phone went off and she said, 'Oh, no. Go ahead, take a personal call. Feel free.' She was cracking jokes in the delivery room. She may have been on drugs, but I don't ask personal questions,” he was quoted as saying on a talk show, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"I was just a terrible coach. There was a lot of clapping. I went for a couple of high fives, but she did not,” he added.

The 38-year-old actor has joked that he is "dead" to his daughter because she "gravitates towards the breasts".

"Right now she's starting to say 'mama'. There's an unfair advantage there. It turns out that breasts are actually a life support system and the child seems to gravitate towards the breast.

"I'm just the breastless a*****e wandering around the room and getting in her sightline every once in a while,” he said.