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Ryan Phillippe Disses His Own Career: “I’ve Made 30-Plus Films,” “Five of Them Are Good”

Ryan Phillippe
Ryan Phillippe took a shot at his own movie career, telling the Los Angeles Times that only a few of the 30-plus films he's made are actually good

For every Cruel Intentions, there's at least one MacGruber. Ryan Phillippe has been a working actor for more than two decades now, appearing in films including Gosford Park, Flags of Our Fathers, Breach, and the Oscar-winning ensemble movie Crash. But by his own admission, the majority of the titles on his resume are, in retrospect, just filler.

Related: PHOTOS: Ryan's romantic history

"I've made 30-plus films over 20 years," Reese Witherspoon's ex-husband, 40, told the Los Angeles Times in a recent Skype interview. "And in my opinion, five of them are good. So you slave away and you work hard and you want to make something great, and a lot of times you end up disappointed. There are a lot of elements that are beyond your control when you're an actor for hire," he added.

Related: PHOTOS: Stars' most embarrassing roles

Consider, for example, the 2011 flick Setup. "I did this terrible movie with 50 Cent," the Lincoln Lawyer actor recalled to the Times. "It was just a situation I didn't want to be in. I was sold a bill of goods and it turned out to be something different, which is often the case in this business." (Other less-than-stellar movies in Phillippe's past include 1998's 54, 2001's Company Man, and 2005's Chaos.)

In part because of that, the father of three has soured a bit on the idea of acting for a living, and is now trying his hand at directing. He co-wrote, directed, and stars in the new movie Catch Hell, about a past-his-prime actor who is kidnapped on location in Louisiana.

"Acting alone doesn't sustain me the same way it used to. Which I think is completely okay if you've done something for 20 years," he told the L.A. Times of why he wanted to direct. "Trying something else becomes really appealing."

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