Lest you let Ryan Reynolds‘ status as one of Hollywood’s heartthrobs fool you, rest assured that even the Deadpool star had a typical awkward stage while he was growing up.
In a Instagram post welcoming the new year, Reynolds shared a photo of himself in his youth, where he sported a striped polo and more prominently, a floppy bowl-cut hairstyle in a brassy bleach blonde hue, a dated look that was compared by many of Reynolds’ followers, to Saved by the Bell‘s inimitable Zack Morris.
Reynolds, however, exercised a healthy sense of humor about it, noting wryly in his caption that he “used to style my hair with a blowtorch.”
Further proof that sometimes even the most awkward of ducklings can become beautiful swans. See Reynolds’ original post below.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Why Biden Dropped Out
- Ukraine’s Plan to Survive Trump
- The Rise of a New Kind of Parenting Guru
- The Chaos and Commotion of the RNC in Photos
- Why We All Have a Stake in Twisters’ Success
- 8 Eating Habits That Actually Improve Your Sleep
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Get Our Paris Olympics Newsletter in Your Inbox
Write to Cady Lang at cady.lang@timemagazine.com