Deacon Phillippe Lands Role in Netflix's 'Better Than the Movies'

Deacon Phillippe is quietly building a filmography that suggests he's taking his craft seriously — and his latest casting announcement gives that trajectory considerable momentum. According to Just Jared, the 22-year-old son of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe has joined the Netflix adaptation of Lynn Painter's 2021 novel Better Than the Movies, entering a project that carries both commercial weight and genuine genre affection.

A Rom-Com Built on Classic Tropes

For anyone who grew up watching the golden era of the romantic comedy — think the Nora Ephron years, or the mid-2000s wave that helped define a generation's expectations of love on screen — Better Than the Movies will feel like a deliberate, affectionate homage. Painter's Simon & Schuster novel centers on Liz Buxbaum, a young woman whose near-encyclopedic love of rom-coms becomes her unlikely strategic playbook when she enlists her exasperating but magnetic next-door neighbor to help her capture the attention of her dream guy. The book leans into familiar romantic architecture — enemies to lovers, the fake relationship, the boy next door — while working to subvert each convention just enough to feel fresh. It's the kind of source material that rewards a director with a strong sense of tonal balance.

That director is Julia Hart, whose sensibility has always leaned toward emotional honesty within genre frameworks. Her recent Netflix feature Don't Say Good Luck demonstrated a continued fluency with character-driven storytelling, and she co-wrote the Better Than the Movies script alongside Heather Flanders and her producing partner Jordan Horowitz.

Deacon Phillippe Joins a Well-Assembled Ensemble

Deacon is set to portray Michael Young, a character whose precise role in the story the production has kept close to the vest for now. His screen credits remain limited — appearances in Never Have I Ever and Motorheads represent the sum of his on-camera work to date — but landing a named role in a Netflix feature with this kind of profile is a meaningful escalation. Fans who recall Ava & Deacon Phillippe catching Pulp Fiction at Hollywood Forever will know that his engagement with cinema runs deeper than casual celebrity-adjacent interest.

He joins a cast that already had two anchors in place: Beatrice Kitsos (Percy Jackson) as Liz Buxbaum and David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty) as the pivotal next-door neighbor Wes Bennett. The newly announced additions filling out the ensemble are Nicole Bruner as Jocelyn, Luke Kirby as Brian Buxbaum, Judy Greer as Helena, Claire Coffee as Martha Buxbaum, Ora Duplass as Laney Morgan, and Kynlee Heiman as Young Liz. It's a notably sturdy supporting lineup, with Greer in particular bringing considerable comedic credibility to whatever family dynamics the story requires.

The Witherspoon Connection and a Broader Moment for the Family

There's a pleasing symmetry in Deacon stepping into a project that orbits the romantic comedy — a genre his mother helped revitalize and elevate during her own career. Reese Witherspoon's work as a producer and tastemaker has long demonstrated an investment in stories that center women's emotional lives with intelligence rather than condescension, and Better Than the Movies fits squarely within that tradition. Witherspoon herself has been busy across multiple fronts, including her return to the Legally Blonde universe and her expanding role in the Elle project.

For Deacon, the real measure of this casting will come once audiences see how he inhabits Michael Young alongside more seasoned co-stars. The early indicators — thoughtful project selection, a willingness to start in supporting roles — suggest a performer who understands that longevity in this industry is built incrementally, one considered choice at a time.