Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe’s Son Deacon Lands Major Netflix Rom-Com Role
Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe’s Son Deacon Lands Major Netflix Rom-Com Role
Marija MrakovicSun, September 6, 2026 at 8:19 PM UTC
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Image Credit: Fred Duval / Shutterstock
Deacon Phillippe has spent the past few years moving between music and acting. Only months after finishing college, one of those careers is getting a considerably bigger showcase.
The 22-year-old son of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe has joined Netflix's upcoming adaptation of Lynn Painter's bestselling young adult romance Better Than the Movies. Netflix confirms that Deacon will play Michael Young, the longtime crush at the center of heroine Liz Buxbaum's romantic plans.
Deacon celebrated the casting on Instagram Stories by writing that he was “beyond grateful” and later referred to his new castmates as “gang.” The announcement came less than four months after his May graduation from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where both of his parents attended the ceremony.
The role follows smaller television appearances in Never Have I Ever and Motorheads. This time, Deacon is stepping into a Netflix feature based on a romance novel with an established fan base and a character whose return sets much of the central love story in motion.
Deacon Plays the Crush Liz Has Wanted for Years
Better Than the Movies follows high school senior Liz Buxbaum, a devoted romantic comedy fan who wants the kind of love story she has spent years watching on screen. When her longtime crush Michael returns, she teams up with her annoying but attractive next door neighbor Wes Bennett in an attempt to get Michael's attention.
Beatrice Kitsos plays Liz, while David Iacono plays Wes. The cast also includes Nicole Bruner, Luke Kirby, Judy Greer, Claire Coffee, Ora Duplass, Veronica Garrubbo and Kynlee Heiman.
Julia Hart is directing and co-wrote the screenplay with Jordan Horowitz and Heather Flanders. Horowitz is producing for Original Headquarters alongside Shauna Phelan and Melanie Krauss.
The Book Arrives With an Established Romance Audience
Painter's novel was published in 2021 and became a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. Netflix says it has appeared on the newspaper's monthly young adult paperback list for 44 months and spent 20 weeks on its weekly young adult hardcover list.
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The adaptation is being built as a love letter to romantic comedies, with Netflix specifically pointing to familiar devices such as fake relationships, enemies becoming romantic interests and the boy next door.
The interest around casting started before the full ensemble was announced. Kitsos publicly asked for the chance to audition for Liz before ultimately landing the role opposite Iacono, and Deacon was among eight additional cast members revealed when the production moved forward in September.
Deacon Already Played His Father’s Onscreen Brother
Deacon's previous television job came with an unusual family connection. In Prime Video's Motorheads, he played Christian Maddox in flashbacks, the younger brother of Ryan Phillippe's character Logan Maddox.
Ryan told PEOPLE that he deliberately stayed out of the casting decision when showrunner John A. Norris suggested Deacon. He told the producers to approach his son directly while privately hoping Deacon would accept the job.
The two did not share scenes, but Ryan attended Deacon's first night shoot and spent time discussing the fictional brothers' childhood with him and Norris. Before Motorheads, Deacon made his acting debut as Parker in two episodes of Netflix's Never Have I Ever.
Acting Has Grown Alongside His Music Career
Music was Deacon's main professional focus before the acting roles began adding up. He started releasing songs as a teenager and released his album A New Earth in 2023, a project he developed with friends while attending college in New York.
His screen work began in 2022, when he appeared as Parker on Netflix's Never Have I Ever. Motorheads followed in 2025, with Better Than the Movies now adding a feature film role to that relatively short acting résumé.
The film reportedly began production in Chicago on September 3. Netflix has not announced when Better Than the Movies will premiere.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
