It seems like everyone is quitting the movie business nowadays. Director Steven Soderbergh has been saying for a while that after his next few movies he’s moving on to other things other than directing, and now Ryan Phillippe looks to be joining him. At only 36, Phillippe has been acting for 20 years and is said now to have tired of it. In speaking to a New York column he said:
I’m going to move. I’m going to spend a third of my year in New York… I think I’m going to end my acting career. I’m so introverted. I’m ready to be behind the scenes. I’m 36, but I’ve been doing this for 20 years.
Well it’s not a thunderingly awful loss to the acting fraternity, it just smacks of complete overreaction and a tad infantile. Phillippe is a competent actor and can be very good. He was great in Paul Haggis‘ controversial Best Picture winner Crash and Robert Altman‘s Gosford Park. Most recently he starred in The Lincoln Lawyer and was one of the better parts. Other than that though it’s not a huge loss. This whole people quitting young seems ludicrous to me, it’s just acting. Get over it. (Ace Showbiz)