Why Ryan Phillippe Says It’s ‘Natural’ for His Kids to Follow in Hollywood Footsteps (Exclusive)

Ryan PhilIippe plays a Christian missionary who has a crisis of faith when he finds himself in mortal danger in the new survival thriller “Prey.”

“Extra’s” Mona Kosar Abdi spoke with Ryan about his role, as well as his kids with Reese Witherspoon.

In “Prey,” Ryan was reunited with former co-star Mena Suvari, who plays his girlfriend.

He shared, “We were in the same movie when we were about 19 years old, and I really hadn't seen her since then, so it's almost 30 years later.”

In the film, Phillippe and Suvari’s characters get stranded in the Kalahari Desert. He said, “A plane goes down in a reserve for big game in Africa and no one knows you're there. It's terrifying.”

In real life, Ryan shares two kids, Ava and Deacon, with ex Reese Witherspoon, and they are following in their mom and dad’s Hollywood footsteps!

When asked if Ava was pursuing acting, he answered, “She is. She’s sort of getting her feet wet, you know? She’s taking time to kind of figure out exactly what it is she wants to do.”

Ryan elaborated, “That's what always annoys me about this whole nepotism talk with the industry. You know, so many people grow up and end up doing what their parents do, you know, to some degree or another... To me, I always get offended for the children of actors and entertainers when people bring that up because yeah, of course, that's what they've grown up around. By the way, that familiarity makes them handle some of what is hard about this industry. You’ve gotta have a thick skin. There’s so much rejection and nasty things that can be said about you. It’s not all celebration."

He emphasized, "These kids have grown up watching on set with Reese or with me. It seems natural, I think.”

While Ava is exploring acting, Deacon is an aspiring musician.

Ryan said he is “insanely" proud of his son. “He makes me proud every single day of his life just in regards to the young man he's become, to how he operates in the world," Ryan remarked. "He's just such a source of light and love, and he's very solid and spiritual. He's got an incredible work ethic.”

He added, "Deacon and I are particularly close because we have so much in common. We like all the same things, same music, same sense of humor."

Ryan also revealing, "He may be joining me on this series and playing my character’s brother in the flashbacks, so I'm kind of excited about that possibly happening."

Talking about Deacon's music, Ryan raved, “He's really evolving as a musician. He's put out a lot of really good stuff at a young age, and I'm excited to see what the future holds for him, and I just feel the world is lucky to have him."

Ryan says his own future is one about “spiritual growth." He reflected, “I'm sort of segueing into other sort of business realms, really into the restaurant thing. I'm working on opening a hotel in the next year. I will always be open to working as an actor, but it's becoming less and less a solitary focus.”

“Prey” is on demand and in theaters now.

To hear the full interview, you can also download this week’s “Extra: The Podcast” on the Audacy app and everywhere podcasts are available. New episodes will be released weekly on Wednesdays.