Ryan Reynolds' doctor prescribed him a "stuntman" when he broke his neck.

Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds

The 40-year-old actor no longer does his own stunts after having some "bad injuries" and realised it was time to give them up for good after damaging his vertebrae while filming 2013's 'Safe House'.

He said: "I've had some bad injuries doing stunts. I broke a couple of vertebrae in my neck. It was a bad situation.

"I remember the doctor sitting in the office - it was about the seventh time I had been there that year - and he writes on a prescription pad, rips off the note and it reads 'Stuntman'. Point taken.

"So now I use four different guys that come with me. Thankfully nothing scary happened on this one ['The Hitman's Bodyguard']."

Despite his fame, Ryan doesn't have a bodyguard and would feel "ashamed" if he did feel the need to employ protection because he is a "big guy".

When he and his 'Hitman's Bodyguard' co-star Samuel L. Jackson were asked if they employ their own protection, Ryan told Empire magazine: "Look we're two pretty big guys. I would feel ashamed if I had a bodyguard.

"The only time I ever have security is when I go to Comic-Con because you need guys to help get you 100 feet."

But his co-star admitted there are certain places where he needs to have someone to protect him.

He said: "Aggression changes from place to place.

"In France people camp outside your hotel and chant your name. In Germany, you wish you had a bodyguard because Germans are aggressive whenever they want their s**t signed. But most times, I'm pretty OK.

"The first time I went to Johannesburg I was riding around in a bullet-proof car and all that kind of s**t.

"Five guys met me at the airport. One guy was like, 'Mike will always be on tour right because he draws from his right. I am left-handed. I will always be to your left. If we try and take you down, let us take you down. Do. Not. Resist.'

"I was like, 'What the f**k? I'm here to do press, man.'"