Reese Witherspoon Helped Son Deacon Phillippe Land His "Never Have I Ever" Role

Deacon Phillippe is ready for the spotlight! The 18-year-old son of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe makes his acting debut in season three of "Never Have I Ever," which hit Netflix on Aug. 12. In the series, Deacon plays a new character named Parker, a member of a rival debate team from a private school and friend of Nirdesh, aka Des (Anirudh Pisharody) — Devi's (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) new love interest.

Deacon's Parker makes his first appearance in episode seven; however, we don't officially meet him until episode eight when he accompanies Des to Devi's game night. Though he has a minor role in season three, Deacon's character makes a big impression on Devi after he triggers an old memory about her late father.

According to series creator Mindy Kaling, the newcomer has his mom to thank for his first TV role. "Reese had told me that he was interested in performing . . . and I only had this role that seemed really good for him," Kaling told Entertainment Tonight. "He's so super talented, obviously really handsome, but here's this kid who's been raised by two very successful actors and he wanted to learn. He came to set, he really wanted to learn from our cast, and I just love that energy."

Deacon's parents couldn't be any prouder of his acting accomplishment. On Aug. 3, Ryan told Entertainment Tonight, "I am so proud. He's about to go to college for music. That's his primary focus." He added: "The acting thing he likes to do, and he will do according to what his appetite for it is, but his focus is primarily music."

A few days before his "Never Have I Ever" debut, Reese posted a sweet snap with Deacon on Instagram captioned, "This hug made my whole year 💝@deaconphillippe," and the latter commented, "Miss you so much!!" Deacon recently graduated high school and will be heading to college this fall.

In addition to his appearance in the hit Netflix series, Deacon has been busy promoting his music on social media. On Aug. 12, he dropped a mixtape via Soundcloud titled "JUSTAKID," which he teased on Instagram on Aug. 3.