Ryan Phillippe

Matthew Ryan Phillippe was born September 10th, 1974 to Richard and Susan Phillippe, a chemical technician and a child-care provider respectively. The couple had three other children, Lindsay, Katelyn and Kirsten. The family resided in New Castle, Delaware, where Ryan was surrounded by children most of his life as a result of his mother’s occupation, a factor that contributed to his family-oriented nature later in life.

Ryan was discovered by an agent while getting a haircut at a barber shop in Penn Acres. After graduating from the New Castle Christian Academy, Ryan’s mother took him to auditions in Philadelphia, where he soon landed a promising role as Billy Douglas on the Emmy-nominated soap-opera One Life to Live. While it may have been Ryan’s first role, it was not an easy one; Ryan’s character was the first gay teen on daytime television. Ryan’s character was written off the show after the 92-93 season, and he began to garner roles in television and motion pictures, including The Secret of Lake Success (‘93), Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Grimacing Governor (‘94), Matlock (‘94), Due South (‘94), Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare (‘95), Crimson Tide (‘95), Chicago Hope (‘96), The Outer Limits (‘96), and Invader (’96). It was during this time that Ryan became close friends with two other up-and-coming actors, Breckin Meyer and Seth Green. In 1996, Ryan took on a prominent role in Ridley Scott’s White Squall, and appeared in two successive movies in 1997, Nowhere and Little Boy Blue.

That same year, Ryan attended a party he had not been invited to, simply for the free beer. It turned out that the party was being held for the 21st birthday of young actress Reese Witherspoon, with over 300 guests in attendance. Ryan and Reese hit it off immediately, and spent the entire evening talking. By the end of the night, Reese sweetly proclaimed “I think you’re my present”. However, Ryan left Los Angeles the following morning to film his third movie of the year, I Know What You Did Last Summer. The pair continued their new relationship through letters, phone calls, and recommending favourite books to each other. Upon Ryan’s return to L.A., the couple continued to date steadily, and eventually moved in together.

I Know What You Did Last Summer was a hit, with Ryan starring alongside Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jennifer Love Hewitt as smug rich boy Barry Cox. Ryan began to gain recognition as a heartthrob, but defied stereotype in 1998 by taking on the roles of Harlan in Homegrown and then as Shane in 54. He also joined a stellar cast consisting of Angelina Jolie Gena Rowlands, Dennis Quaid and Sean Connery in Playing By Heart.

In December of 1998, Ryan proposed to Reese, his girlfriend of nearly two years, while they were vacationing at The Planter’s Inn in Charleston, South Carolina. Reese accepted, and the couple went on to star alongside each other in 1999’s Cruel Intentions. While promoting the hit film, it was announced that Reese was expecting the couple’s first child. They were delighted, and pictures showed a glowing couple, obviously very much in love and thrilled by their impending new arrival.

The pair wed beneath a river-side willow tree on June 5th, 1999 at a plantation in Charleston. It was a family affair, with no pictures ever released to the public and friends helping to co-ordinate the event. On September 9th, 1999, the newlyweds welcomed a baby girl, Ava Elizabeth Phillippe.

Following this very busy year, Ryan appeared in the film Company Man in 2000, and then starred in The Way of the Gun as Parker, a role for which he gained 25 pounds of muscle. After a turn as Milo Hoffman in 2001’s Antitrust, Ryan’s career gained new recognition when he joined an ensemble cast as Henry Denton in Gosford Park, which was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and also won Best Screenplay. Ryan’s next role came in 2003 as Oliver in the critically lauded Igby Goes Down. That same year, after months of rumour, Reese announced on The Jay Leno Show that she and hubby Ryan were expecting a second child. On October 23rd, 2003, Reese gave birth to a son whom she and Ryan named Deacon Phillippe.

After Ryan’s The I Inside was released, he flew to Vancouver in early 2004 to film Crash, directed by Paul Haggis. The film, which starred Ryan as Officer Hansen alongside Sandra Bullock Don Cheadle, Brendan Fraser, and Matt Dillon, was a smash hit with critics and audiences alike upon its release, and was praised for its honest portrayal of Los Angeles. Ryan then began work on Chaos, which was picked up by Mobius Entertainment upon its completion and will be released later in 2005. Ryan is currently filming Clint Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers, a film documenting the lives of the men who lifted the flag at The Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.

Ryan, who has continued his close friendship with Breckin Meyer and Seth Green, now runs a production company called Lucid Films with them and David E. Siegal. They reportedly have several projects lined up, and it has been announced that Ryan will star in 2006’s Tlatelolco: Mexico 68. Ryan is a loving father and husband, and when he is not shooting a film, he resides in Brentwood, California with wife Reese, six-year-old Ava, two-year-old Deacon and the family’s two dogs, Frank Sinatra and Coco Chanel.

Philmography

Breach (2007) .... Eric O'Neill
Flags of Our Fathers (2006) .... John "Doc" Bradley
Five Fingers (2006) .... Martijn
Chaos (2006/I) .... Shane Dekker
Crash (2004/I) .... Officer Tom Hansen
The I Inside (2003) (as Ryan Phillipe) .... Simon Cable
Igby Goes Down (2002) .... Oliver 'Ollie' Slocumb
Gosford Park (2001) .... Henry Denton
Antitrust (2001) .... Milo Hoffman
The Way of the Gun (2000) .... Mr. Parker
Company Man (2000) .... Petrov
Cruel Intentions (1999) .... Sebastian Valmont
Playing by Heart (1998) .... Keenan
54 (1998) .... Shane O'Shea
Homegrown (1998) .... Harlan Dykstra
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) .... Barry William Cox
Little Boy Blue (1997) .... Jimmy West
Nowhere (1997) .... Shad, Allysa's Brother
White Squall (1996) .... Gil Martin
Invader (1996) .... Private Ryan
Crimson Tide (1995) .... Seaman Grattam