Ryan Phillippe Is a Gay Hero

Ryan Phillippe new movie Stop Loss will be released in US theaters this Friday, and the actor has been hard at work doing the promotional rounds and working the talk show circuit. His appearance on Ellen DeGeneres' show was particularly interesting, since it reminded the audience one fact that most had forgotten – namely, that Phillippe played the first-ever gay teenager on television in his first-ever acting role in 1992, on the soap opera One Life To Live. The actor mentioned his ground-breaking role and confessed that the gay fans all over the States appreciated his work and regarded him as their savior.

Phillippe confessed that since his career was only beginning, no one warned him against taking on a potentially controversial role. He made the decision alone, and at 17 he was soon hailed as a potential life savior. "I wasn’t really aware at the time, I was 17 years old myself, but I remember getting fan mail and since it was my first big job - that’s exciting, getting fan mail… Some of them were pretty moving" the actor confessed. "There was one or two who said ‘you know, I was contemplating suicide and I saw a representation of who I was on television for the first time… and it made me feel good about myself…’ those things were pretty moving". And while he admitted his early work made a very big difference on his outlook on acting, Phillippe was modest enough to admit he wasn't fully aware of the impact his acting was making at the time.

The usually intensely private actor also revealed his annoyance at having his every movement traced by the paparazzi, especially when it comes to the time he spends with his two children. "You can check the pages of most magazines and find out [where he takes them] unfortunately. I take them snowboarding, we go to the beach, I’m teaching them how to skateboard, my daughter just learned to ride a bike. That kind of fun, fatherly stuff. We’ll watch Nancy Drew or Hannah Montana or something. All suitable stuff for a 33 year old guy," he joked. He was careful, however, not to go anywhere near hot topics like his divorce from his former Oscar-winning wife Reese Witherspoon or his current relationship with Abbie Cornish.



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