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Matthew Ryan Phillippe (born September 10, 1974) is an American actor. After appearing on the soap opera One Life to Live, he came to fame in the late 1990s, starring in a string of teen-oriented films, including I Know What You Did Last Summer, Cruel Intentions, and 54. Phillippe's more recent roles include the 2005 Academy Award-winning ensemble film Crash and the 2006 war drama Flags of Our Fathers. In 2007 he starred in Breach, a movie based on the true story of FBI Operative Eric O'Neill who is assigned to shadow and help catch his boss, Robert Hanssen, a spy for the Soviet Union and Russia, in the act of selling secret material. Ryan Phillippe first gained attention for his groundbreaking role as daytime television’s first openly gay male teen on "One Life to Live" (ABC, 1968- ). By the end of the 1990s, he had become one of the hottest stars on the 20-something radar. Teen-oriented hits like “I Know What You Did Last Summer” (1997) and “Cruel Intentions” (1999) gave the chiseled blond actor instant box office cred, but the actor wisely tempered the multiplex hits with strong performances in smart fare like “Gosford Park” (2001), “The Way of the Gun” (2000), and “Igby Goes Down” (2002), assuring himself a wider range of opportunities and a promising future. It did not hurt his profile that following the shooting of “Cruel Intentions,” Phillippe fell in love with his co-star, Reese Witherspoon, whose star rose during their long-term – for Hollywood, anyway – seemingly happy marriage. Ryan's acting career began with the soap opera, "One Life to Live" (1968). It was no small role; his character, Billy Douglas, was US daytime television's first gay teenager. Billy struggled with coming out issues and the town's anti-gay reactions. After several other television appearances and some small roles in movies, he began starring in movies of his own, Nowhere (1997), White Squall (1996) and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997). Phillippe was born Matthew Ryan Phillippe in New Castle, Delaware, the son of Susan, who ran a day care center in the family's house, and Richard Phillippe, who worked for DuPont. He has three sisters, Kirsten, Lindsay and Katelyn. Phillippe attended New Castle Baptist Academy, where he played basketball and soccer, as well as earned a black belt in Tae Kwon Do; he was also the Yearbook Editor in his senior year. At the age of fifteen, he became interested in an acting career, inspired by a neighbor's suggestion. A casting agent spotted Phillippe in a barbershop two years later, and began sending him to auditions in New York. Phillippe's acting career began with an appearance in ABC daytime drama One Life to Live. His character Billy Douglas, whom he played from 1992 to 1993, was the first gay teenager in a daily soap opera, causing a stir. After leaving the show, Phillippe moved to Los Angeles, where he appeared in a number of small parts in various television shows and movies, including 1996s White Squall. Phillippe was cast in the 1997 horror film, I Know What You Did Last Summer, which co-starred Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt. The film was a success in October of that year, and led to Phillippe gaining wider renown and being cast in a few more high-profile films, including 54 in 1998 and 1999's Cruel Intentions, a modern retelling of the Choderlos de Laclos' novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses. The latter film, which also starred Phillippe's future wife, Reese Witherspoon, as well as his I Know What You Did Last Summer co-star, Sarah Michelle Gellar, was a success among its intended teenage audience, cementing Phillippe's ability to play characters that require sex appeal. In the years following, Phillippe appeared in the crime drama The Way of the Gun, starred as a famed software engineer in the thriller Antitrust, and co-starred in Robert Altman's critically-acclaimed Gosford Park, which featured several of Britain's most respected actors. Subsequently, Phillippe had supporting parts in the films Igby Goes Down (2002) and Crash (2005), which won the Oscar for Best Picture. His 2003 film, The I Inside, premiered on cable. In 2006, Phillippe played real-life Navy corpsman John Bradley in the war film Flags of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood and following the journey of the United States Marines who lifted the flag at the battle of Iwo Jima. Phillippe has said that the film was the "best experience" of his career because of its "personal meaning" to him, and that he would have "given his life" to fight in World War II, noting that both of his grandfathers fought in the war. Phillippe's role was positively received by film critic Richard Roeper, who specified that he thought it was Phillippe's best performance to date. Phillippe was now steadily receiving offers to work with highly-respected directors in varied dramatic roles, and he delivered the goods again with “Breach” (2007). The film was based on the true story of an FBI operative (Chris Cooper) convicted of spying for the Soviet Union, and was hailed by critics who were up in arms that the film had been released at the slowest time of the year with little promotion. Phillippe followed up with a starring role in “Stop-Loss” (2007), the story of a returning Iraq war soldier from “Boys Don’t Cry” director Kimberly Peirce. As a partner in the production company Lucid Films with old buddies Breckin Myer and Seth Green. The company’s first option was a film adaptation of Paul Beatty’s novel White Boy Shuffle (1996). Phillippe's most recent role was in the thriller Breach, in which he played FBI investigator Eric O'Neill opposite Chris Cooper. He has since commented that he believes Cooper to be "the best actor America has to offer". He next starred in several 2007 and 2008 films, including Chaos, in which he plays a police officer, Five Fingers, a drama set in Morocco, and the Iraqi war film Stop-Loss, directed by Kimberly Peirce. Phillippe and his long-time friends Breckin Meyer, Seth Green, and David E. Siegal run a production company called Lucid Films. Phillippe is becoming more actively involved in his films as a producer. In 1997, Phillippe attended a party given for actress Reese Witherspoon's 21st birthday. Upon meeting Witherspoon, Phillippe was reported to have spent all night talking to the young actress, with Witherspoon telling Phillippe "I think you're my birthday present".The following morning, Phillippe left California to film I Know What You Did Last Summer, and subsequently began a long-distance courtship with Witherspoon by mail, e-mail, and telephone. When Phillippe returned to Los Angeles, the couple continued dating and became engaged in December 1998. The following year, the pair starred in Cruel Intentions together. Phillippe and Witherspoon married on June 5, 1999, in a small ceremony on a plantation near North Charleston, South Carolina. On September 9, 1999, Phillippe and Witherspoon had a daughter named Ava Elizabeth, after Phillippe's grandmother. Their son, Deacon Reese (named after Phillippe's distant relative, Deacon Phillippe, a baseball player) was born on October 23, 2003. The family resided in a gated community in Brentwood, California. On October 30, 2006, Phillippe and Witherspoon released a statement announcing that they had decided to formally separate. After over seven years of marriage, Witherspoon filed for divorce from her husband on November 8, 2006, citing irreconcilable differences. In light of the couple's lack of a prenuptial agreement, she requested that the court refuse to grant spousal support to Phillippe, and asked for joint legal custody and sole physical custody of the pair's two children. Phillippe filed for joint physical custody of the children on May 15, 2007. He did not ask for spousal support, and did not block Witherspoon from seeking it from him. Phillippe has stated that following the divorce filing, he was physically distraught over the ending of his marriage. The couple's divorce was finalized October 5, 2007, according to court documents. Has three sisters: Kirsten, Lindsay and Katelyn. Black belt in Tae Kwon Do. His parents names are Richard and Susan Phillippe. Daughter Ava Elizabeth Phillippe born 9 September 1999, Was considered for a role in The Patriot (2000), but lost out to Heath Ledger. Turned down the role of Anakin Skywalker, because of the age difference between Natalie Portman and himself. He's a huge fan of Frank Sinatra, for both his music and as an interesting character in history. As a tribute he named his bulldog after the singer. Hobbies: photography, cartooning, and writing. His father is a chemical technician and his mother works in pre- and post-natal care. He played baseball and soccer in highschool. He was the Yearbook Editor in his senior year. Brother-in-law of John D. Witherspoon. Son Deacon Phillippe was born October 23rd, 2003. Runs a production company, Lucid Films, with David E. Siegel and fellow actors Seth Green and Breckin Meyer. Graduated from New Castle Baptist Academy, now New Castle Christian Academy in New Castle, Delaware. Packed on 25 pounds of muscle and stopped shaving for 3 months for his role as Parker in The Way of the Gun (2000). Son, Deacon, was named for his distant relative, Charles Louis "Deacon" Phillipe, who pitched and won the first World Series game ever, in 1903, beating Cy Young, as well as for Hall of Fame football player Deacon Jones. (Reported on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992), 18 May 2005). Fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. Was considered for the role of Harvey Dent in "The Dark Knight". Phillippe is an avid fan of Philadelphia sports teams, most notably the Eagles and Phillies. He is also a longtime fan of The Howard Stern Show, having attended the landmark mock funeral of rival Philadelphia disc jockey John DeBella in the early nineties, ditching out of a school field trip to go to the funeral. During an appearance on March 20, 2008; he proclaimed himself a "big fan" of castmember Artie Lange, saying that he could relate to Artie's personal struggles, which the rest of the cast found odd, contrasting Phillippe's movie star good looks and lifestyle with Artie's constant weight problems and depression issues. Nevertheless, Artie thanked him for the praise and added that he was a fan of several of Phillippe's movies; specifically The Way Of The Gun and Flags of our Fathers. Ryan also revealed that he had paid $250 for a bust of Wack Packer Beetlejuice's head but never received it, later in the show, Beetlejuice's manager called in saying that he'd "look into it." One week later, he would attend an Artie Lange stand-up comedy performance in Los Angeles where he was invited backstage and cordially invited Stern staffer J. D. Harmeyer (noted for his socially awkward, "nerdy" personal life) to go clubbing with his entourage. |
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