Short Articles
RYAN'S HOPE After being gutted like a
flounder in I Know What You Did Last Summer, Ryan Phillippe just
wanted some independents - namely Homegrown, about scheming marijuana
farmers, and Little Boy Blue, a tale of incest. The 23-year-old
now holds the dubious honor of costarring in two films that "both opened
in the last two months and closed in two weeks." Phillippe adds with
a shrug: "They didn't get a promotional push and were dark. That's
what can be frustrating about independents...[But] it's a place to experiment."
Phillippe's next movies will no doubt be more widely seen: He stars
in a pair from Miramax - this August's 54, about the infamous nightclub,
and Dancing About Architecture, with Sean Connery and Gillian Anderson,
due out early next year. Still, he doesn't regret his smaller efforts.
"Little Boy Blue is not an Independence Day or Godzilla,"
he says. "Thank God." (Entertainment Weekly)
Does I Know What You Did Last Summer star
Ryan Phillippe mind being called a sex symbol? "I don't know.
It's nice that people want to compliment me in some superficial way," says
Ryan. "I guess it's better than being called ugly." This month,
you can see the bashful babe in 54, a movie about the real-life
New York disco, Studio 54. Ryan stars as Shane O'Shea, a naive kid
from New Jersey who becomes the hot bartender in town, with co-stars Neve
Campbell, Mike Myers and Salma Hayek. Don't miss Ryan later this
year in Cruel Inventions with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Joshua Jackson
and Reese Witherspoon. (YM?)
HOTTEST NEW FACE ON FILM: RYAN PHILLIPPE
You can't forget his face, so you better learn how to pronounce his last
name! It's Fil-lip-pay. And while you might have first
seen Ryan, 24, as arrogant jock Barry in I Know What You Did Last Summer,
his career actually got going more than six years ago with a role on the
soap One Life to Live, playing daytime's first-ever gay teen character.
That controversial role made Ryan hungry for bigger
and better projects with more prestige, so he packed up after a year in
New York and headed to Hollywood. He hit the humbling audition circuit,
becoming frustrated when his career stalled. "You tell your parents
everything's all great because if it's [bad], they'll tell you to come
home," says Ryan of that tough time. "It was always these conversations:
'Oh, I love it out here!' Then you hang up the phone and cry because
you're miserable."
Now the phone calls home are more upbeat!
Last Summer led to a host of cool roles, including Homegrown,
54, Cruel Inventions and Dancing About Architecture,
due out next year. And professional success has helped Ryan romantically
- he's dating his Cruel Inventions costar Reese Witherspoon (darn!)
But don't think Ryan's fame has gone to his head.
"One of the things I admire most about Ryan is that he hasn't changed,"
says his long-time friend Matt Alexander. "He hasn't gone all Hollywood."
But Hollywood sure has gone for him! (Teen)
RYAN PHILLIPPE in 54
Offscreen, he's sweet. But onscreen, Ryan's really bad, like in
I Know What You Did Last Summer. Now, in real life people are
afraid of him. "They're surprised when I'm not nasty," he said.
Uh-oh - what will they think after seeing him play a sex maniac opposite
Neve Campbell in 54? (Twist)
RYAN PHILLIPPE Ryan, the adorable
dreamboat you might have spotted in last year's movies White Squall
and Nowhere, might seem like the perfect guy: He's talented,
cute and in person, way, way smart. But, believe it or not, Ryan
doesn't exactly agree. In fact, Ryan's little secret is that he's
modest to a fault. Just check out his reasons for getting into acting.
"It came from a place of insecurity simply because I don't find myself
interesting at all," Ryan's sighed, "and I had a lot of problems
with, well, me." But it seems like all the poz feedback he's been
getting for his fab acting skills is starting to sink in. "I'm dealing
with it a little better now," Ryan's assured. Phew! A lack
of confidence certainly hasn't hurt the 23-year-old cutie from getting
work - look for him in the upcoming flick Homegrown with Billy Bob
Thorton.
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