Celebrity Parade With Jeanne Wolf

Mar. 28, 2008 — -- Ryan Phillippe

Ryan Phillippe fought on Iwo Jima in "Flags of Our Fathers." Now he's an Iraq war hero in "Stop Loss," fighting a battle against returning for another tour of duty. Ryan told Parade, "We're caught up in the politics of the war, but I began to understand that when you're a soldier the reality is to stay alive." Phillippe hopes the provocative "Stop Loss" will "push a lot of buttons and make people think."

"I don't want to sit in a movie and have a benign experience." Phillippe adds, "I've got other things to do with my time. I'd rather spend time with my kids or play cards or something. I love the idea of using your work to influence or to create a dialogue of some sort about what's happening in the world like the war in Iraq."

Phillippe reveals that a veteran of another war has been a big influence on him. "My grandfather was a World War II veteran," he says. "He received commendations for fighting in Germany. He was a guy who grew up poor, had a pair of shoes to share between him and his brothers, went off, fought in the war and came back, battled alcoholism his entire life, got turned around and cleaned up and became a deacon in his church. He was a man who just overcame a ton of adversity and was my idol. He inspired me as a youth and even to this day. It was the way he lived, looking problems in the eye and looking at some of the ugliness and mistakes that you've made and overcoming them. Finding a way to get your life on track."

As for getting his own life back on track since his divorce from Reese Witherspoon, Phillip admits it hasn't been easy. "There's a great poem by Dylan Thomas that talks about 'rage against the dying of the light,'" he says. "You gotta stay strong, you have to fight and be there for your children, and I think that's the best way to handle it."

Mick Jagger

Just like the energizer bunny, Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones keep going and going. And the proof is in "Shine a Light," a documentary following them on tour. Jagger told Parade, "My thing is to constantly move forward. I'm not a looking back person." Mick who is almost sixty-five admits he doesn't party before a concert, but he adds with that Jagger grin, "Afterwards, I allow for partying."