He’s not just a looker! Phillippe has the potential to be the next Brad Pitt, however his career has not reached the highs that it should have, with numerous of his films being forgotten or flopping. However, if you can find them, there’s a lot of little gems. Phillippe seems to hit the headlines more for his personal life rather than his movies, which is sad for someone who’s a genuinely talented actor. Here’s a few of my favourite Ryan Phillippe performances that you should certainly check out.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Nominated for Blockbuster’s favourite supporting actor and the role that catapulted Phillippe to public attention is one of my favourites. Phillippe played the arrogant jock boyfriend to Sarah Michelle Gellar’s beauty queen. He brings sex appeal and bad boy charm to the role, making him one of the horror genres best victims.
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| Work that vest! |
Cruel Intentions
Phillippe stars as Sebastian Valmont in Roger Kumble’s adaptation of French novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses. The film is a wonderful guilty pleasure again with Phillippe having fun with the role of a young playboy.
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| No, he’s not biting her, not of that Twilight crap here. |
Flags of Our Fathers
An example of Phillippe’s more mature work of a leading actor. The film examines what happened after the raising of the flag in Iwo Jima. Phillipes performance is emotionally powerful and to see him directed by Clint Eastwood is wonderful.
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| Hello sailor. |
Stop-Loss
Unfortunately this 2008 film was a complete flop despite an exciting young cast including Channing Tatum, Abbie Cornish, Joseph Gordon Levit and Ryan. The film fell under the curse of most Iraq war movies, despite an excellent script and innovative direction from Kimberly Peirce.
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| Hurt Locker? Never heard of it… |
Franklyn
This gothic fantasy was a nice change of direction for Phillippe where he stars as a masked vigilante in a future metropolis. This low budget British flick is certainly worth a watch to fans of fantasy cinema.
MacGruber
Films based on TV characters rarely work but this certainly has it’s moments. Great hilarious from Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Val Kilmer and Phillippe, which don’t rely on you having seen the SNL sketches. A fun piece of 80s nostalgia and nice to see Phillippe do some comedy. The poor boy even puts a stick of celery in his ass.
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| Action man, |
The Lincoln Lawyer
Top notch legal thriller where Phillippe steps into the role of psychotic playboy, an extremely chilling performance.
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| I goin’ getcha McCoughnahey. |
