Ryan Phillippe: Snapshot
- Name
- Ryan Phillippe
- Birth Date
- September 10, 1974
- Birth Place
- New Castle, Del.
While his wife shot to superstardom, Phillippe built a steady career, choosing supporting roles in critically acclaimed films like Gosford Park and Crash, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2006, Phillippe took a commanding lead turn as John Bradley, the last survivor among the six soldiers who raised the American flag on Iwo Jima, in Clint Eastwood's Flags of our Fathers. After seven years of marriage, Phillippe and Witherspoon announced their separation, finalizing their divorce in 2007.
People Hot List - Which Stars Have the Most Buzz?
- Jennifer Aniston
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Ryan Phillippe: Five Fun Facts
- Growing up, Ryan Phillippe fought off bullies with his black belt in tae kwon do.
- "I have no qualms," Ryan Phillippe told USA Weekend of being exposed to the mysteries of womanhood. "I watched three sisters [Kristen, Lindsay and Katelyn] go through puberty, being dumped by boyfriends, PMS, everything."
- As a senior at New Castle Baptist Academy high school, Ryan Phillippe was voted "Best Smile."
- Ryan Phillippe was on the short list to play Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. "There was a part of me that really wanted the role," he told the BBC. "I got to test with Natalie Portman. I'm seven years older than her, which was dubbed too old. At 29, I was an over-the-hill Anakin." The part went to 21-year-old Hayden Christensen.
- Ryan Phillippe loves Frank Sinatra. Two of the actor's favorite songs are the Sinatra classics "I've Got a Crush on You" and "The Best is Yet to Come."
Ryan Phillippe: Biography 
- 1990
Hair-Raising Discovery
Phillippe, 15, makes an impromptu call to an agent recommended to him by a woman at a local barbershop in Delaware. For two years, Phillippe hits auditions in New York and lands some small modeling jobs.
- 1992
Stirring Up the Soaps
At 17, Phillippe plays gay teenager Billy Douglas on the ABC soap One Life to Live. The character pushes the limits of daytime television with storylines about coming out and homophobia. "Soaps are a powerful way to reach people who live sheltered, closed-off lives," Phillippe tells Paper magazine in 2001. He leaves the show in 1993 after disagreements with ABC regarding his character's development and moves to L.A. to pursue a film career.
- 1997
Party Crasher
Phillippe attends Reese Witherspoon's 21st birthday party for the free beer. At the party, she tells him, "I think you're my birthday present." Both acknowledge an intense initial emotional connection; after five weeks of phone calls, letters, and e-mails, the two go out on their first date, moving in together soon after.
Photo Credits
Top Left: Martin McNeil/WireImage
BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): CLASSMATES YEARBOOK ARCHIVES; Steve Granitz/WireImage
