LOS ANGELES, Feb 4 ― Ryan Reynolds has been “around some drugs” in his time and likens gambling addiction to substance abuse.

The Canadian actor became a father for the first time when wife Blake Lively gave birth to a daughter in December.

Despite daddy duties, work hasn't slowed down for the star. He can next be seen in “Mississippi Grind”, released later this month, as poker player Curtis.

To get into character, Ryan spent time with gamblers and found out more about what spurs them on to keep playing their hand.

“I also found something interesting about that world. I'm a 38-year-old male working in Hollywood, I've been around some drugs in my day, and it's the same thing. Really hardcore gamblers are not addicted to winning at gambling; they're addicted to losing at gambling,” Ryan explained to Details magazine.

“Because you go on this serotonin rollercoaster ride when you're sitting at these tables. And if you win a big bunch of money, man that feels good, that serotonin rushes in. You need to lose it again to get that serotonin rush one more time. You need to let it all go in order to feel that epic height.”

Sienna Miller and Ben Mendelsohn co-star in the flick, which also has a road trip element to it.

During the shoot Ryan also learnt how gambling can have a positive impact on drug addiction.

“One of the guys that we were working with had a long history of substance abuse and the thing that saved his life was poker. He still gets high, he still gets low. And it really is a nice substitute for that.

“It just won't kill you the way crystal meth will,” Ryan added. ― Cover Media