Ryan Phillippe’s son, Deacon, is drawing comparisons to his buff dad in a provocative new photo shoot for California clothing brand ERL.
Deacon, 22, who graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in May as his dad, 51, mom Reese Witherspoon, 50, and sister Ava, 26, looked on, is mostly focused on a music career in production and songwriting but occasionally dips into modeling and acting.
Now he’s gone viral by shedding his shirt and showing off his sculpted abs, as seen in professional snaps taken at a studio in Venice Beach.
The photos were posted to Instagram by the designer and photographer, Eli Russell Linnetz, and have already garnered 7.4K likes.
One shot had Deacon wearing jeans and flip flops and showing off his tanned, toned torso as he leaned against a chest of drawers. His blond hair was brushed back in a beach wave made popular among surfers.
Deacon, who previously shared candid family snaps from his NYU graduation, posed in jeans and tank top before flexing his well-defined biceps as he peeled off his shirt. In yet another thirst trap, the young man wore a purple hoodie, matching jeans and no shirt.
Ryan Phillippe’s son, Deacon, has gone viral by shedding his shirt and showing off his sculpted abs in a provocative new photo shoot for California clothing brand ERL
The Hollywood nepo baby is drawing comparisons to his buff dad, seen in an Instagram snap from October 2025
‘Still in the purps btw they stayed on since,’ Deacon teased in the comments.
Followers couldn’t resist sharing their appreciative remarks with one writing, ‘He got both his parents elite genes,’ and another sharing, ‘He is beautiful like his parents.’
‘Purely beautiful,’ a third ventured to say, and a fourth chimed in, ‘Oh wow.’
Some also pointed out the nepo baby’s ties to his famous parents who first met while filming the 1999 flick Cruel Intensions.
‘ANOTHER day another NEPO HERE FOR THE ABS,’ one fan jibed, while another wrote, ‘This the nepotism I wanna see.’
Not so coincidentally, Deacon mirrored Phillippe’s outfit when he attended the premiere of the Legally Blonde prequel series Elle in New York City on June 23.
Deacon wore a suit with a wide pink tie and dark Ray-Ban shades, a replica of the look the I Know What You Did Last Summer star wore to support Witherspoon at the original Legally Blonde premiere in 2001.
Back in September 2021, Phillippe spoke modestly of where Deacon gets his good looks in an interview with E! News.
The photos were posted to Instagram by the brand’s designer and photographer, Eli Russell Linnetz, and have already garnered 7.4K likes
Deacon showed off his tanned, toned torso as he leaned against a chest of drawers
His blond hair was brushed back in a beach wave made popular among surfers of Venice Beach, California
In yet another thirst trap, the young man wore a purple hoodie, matching jeans and no shirt
‘Obviously, there is a father-son resemblance, but he actually looks a lot more like Reese’s side of the family. Ava looks more like mine,’ he told the outlet, adding that Deacon is ‘way better looking than I am.’
Phillippe and Witherspoon wed in 1999 and were the ‘It’ couple of the early 2000s until their eventual separation in 2006. A year later, their divorce was finalized.
The actor blamed the divorce primarily on their young age when they married, telling W Magazine the split the ‘darkest, saddest place’ he had ever known.
Witherspoon, who wrapped up the fifth and final season of The Morning Show on August 8, described their divorce as ‘humiliating and very isolating,’ per Page Six.
However, the exes remained friendly throughout their post-divorce, co-parenting years and are still friendly.
Witherspoon has been quietly dating Searchlight Capital founding partner Oliver Haarmann since 2024.
The actress is said to be relieved that her boyfriend is not a fellow celebrity.
‘She likes that he’s outside of the entertainment world,’ a source told People. ‘He’s very driven in his own career and that really works for Reese, who loves being busy and focused. They have a lot of fun together and things between them are going really well.’
Deacon is mostly focused on a music career in production and songwriting but occasionally dips into modeling and acting
Deacon flexed his well-defined biceps as he peeled off his shirt
The second child of Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon flaunted the brand and his flawless torso
Deacon mirrored Phillippe’s outfit when he attended the premiere of the Legally Blonde prequel series Elle in New York City with his mom on June 23;Â his parents are pictured at the original Legally Blonde premiere in 2001
Phillippe modestly said that his son gets his good looks from Witherspoon’s side of the family
Witherspoon is still based in Nashville and enjoys travelling ‘back and forth to New York’ to see Haarmann, 58.
While the pair have been dating since 2024, they only made their first public appearance at the New York City premiere of Elle, which stars Lexi Minetree as the teenaged Elle Woods.
‘She loves the kind of focus that comes with having a lot going on,’ the source told the publication. ‘She really enjoyed working behind the scenes on the show, including the casting process, and feels proud to be bringing something she cares so much about to a new audience.’
This is Witherspoon’s first serious relationship since her divorce from former CAA agent Jim Toth in 2023 after 12 years of marriage.
She and Toth have a son, Tennessee, 12, while Haarmann has two children from a previous marriage.
