Showbiz parents usually hope their children aspire for more normal careers. Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe might want to rethink that idea though. Little Deacon Phillipe has a job all lined up for himself now that his mom reportedly told Britain’s Daily Express that she and Phillippe aren’t anxious for the boy, or even his older sister, to go into showbiz.
“He wants to be a pizza delivery boy,” the Oscar winner, 31, is quoted as telling the paper. “Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it’s hard to see how it could be a career as such.”
Of course the Pizza Hut people jumped on the chance to get in on the act and get some good PR. They have a job waiting for Deacon they say in an open letter to the child made public by Extra.
“Dear Deacon,” writes Sandi Karrmann, identified as the “Chief People Officer” for the pizza chain, “We recently heard that you want to be a pizza delivery driver when you grow up. How wonderful! You’ve got several years to go before you can join our team, but in the meantime we’re sending you a few things, so that you can practice.”
The company’s gifts to the boy include a Pizza Hut uniform “that’s just your size,” writes Karrmann, who also sent a mini-delivery car “for you to polish your driving skills,” as well as gift cards for Pizza Hut pizzas.
Also included: encouragement. “We have delivery drivers who have worked for us for 10, 15, even 20 years!” says the letter. “And the same Pizza Hut drivers who deliver hot, fresh pizzas right to your door have gone on to become successful business, doctors, lawyers and, yes, actors.”
In closing, Karrmann advises, “Deacon, keep on dreaming big and know that we’re saving a spot for you on our team.”
As for Witherspoon and Phillippe’s other child, 8-year-old Ava, her mother is quoted in the Express as saying, “My daughter wants to be a scientist, but they are both at the stage where it changes from one week to the next. Neither has said they want to be actors, but you never know.”
Meanwhile Ryan Phillipe recently sat down for an interview with new magazine “Man About Town” and gave some insight on how tough the divorce from Reese Witherspoon was on him: “After the divorce I was a physical wreck. I wanted to die. I was ready to kill myself. I was not taking care of myself at all. I would wake up and cry and vomit.”
On using his past experiences to now cry on demand: “Now, it’s f-king easy. When I was younger, I didn’t have enough to cry about. But since I’ve had kids, I feel my work has become better, because my life is fuller and more complicated, and I’ve experienced so many highs and lows.”
Reese Witherspoon Ryan Phillippe