Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe’s son, Deacon Phillippe, is continuing to follow in his parents’ footsteps in the spotlight.
Netflix announced on Thursday, September 3, that Deacon, 22, will portray Michael Young in Better Than the Movies opposite Beatrice Kitsos, David Iacono, Nicole Bruner, Luke Kirby and Judy Greer.
“Beyond grateful 🍿🍿🍿,” Deacon wrote via his Instagram Stories, resharing the announcement, later calling his new costars “gang” in a follow-up post.
Better Than the Movies, which is currently in development, is adapted from Lynn Painter’s bestselling YA romance novel of the same name. In the book, self-proclaimed romantic comedy fan Liz Buxbaum (Kitsos) finds herself in a love triangle of her own with longtime crush Michael (Deacon) and her neighbor and childhood nuisance, Wes (Iacono).
Few details about the film have been revealed, though the production already has Painter’s seal of approval.
“The CHEMISTRY, you GUYYYYYS!!! They’ve totally NAILED the casting,” Painter teased via Instagram in July. “The Wes/Liz chemistry is insane here. Like, Bea and David might actually be more WesLiz than the WesLiz in my brain, cannot wait for you to see!”
She added at the time, “I’m so excited for you to seeeeeee, losing my everloving mind over here!!!”
Deacon, who graduated from New York University in May, made his acting debut in Netflix’s Never Have I Ever in 2022.
“We were breaking the season, and there was this role that seemed like it would be perfect for Deacon,” show creator Mindy Kaling told Variety at the time, noting that her longtime pal and collaborator Witherspoon, 50, had already shared Deacon’s acting ambitions. “He’s obviously so talented and he’s great-looking, and we just thought he would be great, and he was excited to come and do it.”
Deacon appeared in two episodes of Never Have I Ever as Parker, a prep school classmate of Des (Anirudh Pisharody), who briefly portrayed the love interest to Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) in the third season.
“He’s just such a well-raised kid. He’s so talented, he’s so funny and fit in perfectly with the cast,” Kaling, 47, gushed of Deacon coming aboard the teen comedy. “The cast and the crew loved him, and it was special to have him. He’s such a humble kid, and he just wants to learn.”
She added at the time, “He’s been raised by two very successful actors. He’s not wary or anything. He just came in with this open mind and was excited.”
In addition to Deacon, Witherspoon and Ryan, 51, are parents of daughter Ava, 26. The Cruel Intentions costars were married from 1998 to 2008. Witherspoon also shares son Tennessee, 13, with ex-husband Jim Toth.
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