Ryan's Air of Fatherhood
He Was once Hollywood's most eligible bachelor but these days actor Ryan Phillippe stays at home with his wife and baby daughter rather than partying. The 26-year-old star of Cruel Intentions and computer thriller Antitrust, who's married to actress Reece Witherspoon, has a 16-month-old daughter, Ava.
Since becoming a father he's become more responsible. "I drive differently than I used to. You think about getting on an aeroplane in a different way than before. And in the choices you make you want to be a little more responsible," he explains.
Phillippe is certainly more conscious of the films he makes now. "When I didn't have a child, my life was more self-contained. I didn't have to worry about things as much," he says. "But as you grow older, you become more responsible and want to put out material which is more positive. There's a way to do that and still be original. Some of these movies I see for teenagers don't feel right to me. I have more of a conscience about it now than before I was a dad."
He's very much a hands-on dad and loves changing nappies. It comes easy to him as his mother had a day care centre in the house in which he grew up. "It came very natural to me. Much more to me than to Reece in a way because she had never really been around a baby. Our baby was the first time really," he says.
"I asked my mum for baby advice because she's worked with kids for years and years, and so we call her up if we have any questions."
What does bother him is paparazzi taking pictures of his daughter. "If it's my wife and I, that's fine, we're adults," he says. "We're very lucky to have the jobs we do. It's entertainment, it's fine if people want to follow us around but my feeling is my child did not ask to be born into a family of actors. I don't want her pictures in the papers. There's too many strange people out there."
"So I do have a problem with that," he continues, "but I wouldn't otherwise. I don't have much to hide or anything, it's just that I would like to protect my child."
In a recent incident in New York he became annoyed after a photographer took a picture of his daughter when asked not to. Phillippe was happy to be snapped, but without Ava. "I had specifically said to the guy, 'not with my child, let me put her inside the car'. I said this over and over again. And he didn't respect that and took a picture, and I went after him."
He admits taking a swing at the photographer. "I didn't hit him and luckily I had managed to calm myself down and didn't go after him any further. If I had, I would have got into trouble. They definitely provoke you."
