Ryan Phillippe Opens Up About Films, Family, Physique

March 26, 2008 — -- Even under a dark hoodie jacket and behind the tinted windows of his black Lexus, Ryan Phillippe attracts attention. The paparazzi have followed him from his L.A. home this afternoon to the Viceroy Hotel, where he is sipping a cocktail on the back patio.

"I've gotten to a point where I can rationalize not caring about it," says the very tired and slightly congested actor. After this interview, Phillippe, 33, is headed straight back home to climb in bed and catch up on the latest episode of Lost. But first he must contend with leading the cameramen back home once more.

As annoying as it is -- particularly when it frightens his 8-year-old daughter, Ava -- Phillippe knows his problems are small in comparison with what others face. Acting in two war films alongside real American soldiers has provided a lesson in appreciation.

After a well-received 2006 performance in Clint Eastwood's World War II epic Flags of Our Fathers, Phillippe returns to combat again Friday in Stop-Loss, from writer/director Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry). He plays Sgt. Brandon King, a squad leader to fellow enlistees (Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

Growing up in New Castle, Del., Phillippe heard his share of war stories. Both his grandfathers fought in WWII, and his father and two uncles served in Vietnam. When Phillippe was 17, he considered following in their footsteps, taking it so far as sitting in a recruitment office with a high school buddy.

"I didn't have the best grades, and I don't come from money," he explains, "so it was a potential option."