Ryan Phillippe Reveals How He Reacted to Son Deacon Being Cast as His Brother in “Motorheads” (Exclusive)

• Ryan Phillippe’s 21-year-old son Deacon plays his brother in flashbacks in the new Prime Video series Motorheads

• Phillippe tells PEOPLE he was “thrilled” to spend more time with Deacon on set because “when your kids go off to college, it’s really unsettling”

• Phillippe also says Motorheads came at the perfect time in his three-decade career

When Motorheads showrunner John A. Norris first approached Ryan Phillippe about the idea of tapping his 21-year-old son Deacon Phillippe to play his character’s brother in flashbacks, he had a two-word reaction.

“I was like, ‘Wow, okay,'” Ryan recalls to PEOPLE. “I didn’t want to be an influence one way or the other, so I said, ‘Well, offer it to him, and see what he thinks.’ The whole time [in my head] I’m like, ‘Please do it. Please do it. I want you there with me.’ But I wanted it to be his own decision.”

Ultimately, Ryan, 50, says Deacon, who is studying music at New York University, came to him and said, “Dad, I think I’m going to do it.”

“I was thrilled, because what that meant was he would come in and out throughout the production, and I would get to spend time with him” Ryan says. “When your kids go off to college, it’s really unsettling. It really leaves a deficit, a hole in your life in some ways. Even though I go and visit him in New York, and we spend a lot of time with each other when we can, it’s different than when you’ve got them in your house every day. This experience offered me that opportunity again to live together for a week.”

Though they don’t share scenes together in the new Prime Video series, out May 20, Ryan says he was happy “to be there as a source of support” and a “set dad” for Deacon, who plays the elusive Christian Maddox.

“I was there through his first night shoot, which was really funny to see him struggling to stay awake at 3:30 in the morning,” he says. “Even though we didn’t have scenes together, it was very much a shared experience.”

One of Ryan’s favorite moments with Deacon on set was when they got to sit in Norris’ office together to discuss what their characters’ “childhood would have been like growing up.”

“Me and my son talking about what we were like as brothers is a very cool, unique thing to have happened,” he says. “And then the two lead characters of the show, Michael Cimino and Melissa Collazo, they play [Deacon’s] kids. There was a time where we all got together and had dinner and had laughs about that because he’s younger than both of them, but he’s their father. There was a lot of really, really funny and sweet moments.”

Ryan says Motorheads and his role playing Logan Maddox — a former NASCAR mechanic striving to keep his auto body shop afloat while dealing with his complex family history — came at the perfect time.

“For so much of my career, I’ve been the protagonist, the guy under constant duress or fighting for his life or trying to outrun this or that,” he says. “It’s nice to play someone who’s just laid back and a good dude.”

Ryan — who shares Deacon and daughter Ava Phillippe, 25, with ex Reese Witherspoon and daughter Kai, 13, with ex Alexis Knapp — also says he “related to the family aspect at the core of the show.”

“Logan feels a certain responsibility for the fact that his niece and nephew don’t have their father in their lives, and he has been that figure for them throughout their lives,” he says. “I think he takes a special responsibility towards them and their welfare and also to Marcel and other kids in the community. He is that mentor who will fix their bike for free or help them get a new car when they can’t afford it, or understands that their home life might not be ideal.”

“That’s an appealing character to play, and it’s something I really haven’t done too much of in my career. And I’m at the appropriate time in my life for them,” he continues. “I would sit on set and watch these young actors, and it really took me back to when I was their age and just starting out and all of the mysteries and enthusiasm that goes along with that.”

Ryan, who rose to fame in the ’90s with films like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Cruel Intentions, continued to keep his character’s mentor mindset when the cameras stopped rolling.

“[My young cast mates] would be asking me a lot of questions, like, ‘What should I do?’ ‘What did it used to be like?’ A lot of that,” he says. “I’m very open about my experiences, and I want to share that with the younger generation in whatever way I can or however they find it helpful. A lot of times too, they would invite me out with them, and I’m like, ‘Guys, those days are over. But thank you. I appreciate being invited.’ They all got along so well off set, which was fun to watch.”

Ryan says “each and every day” on Motorheads he was “happy to go to work.”

“You get to be a certain age, and you don’t want to deal with a job that’s agitating or that you’re uncomfortable doing,” he says. “This was the total opposite of that.”

Motorheads premieres May 20 on Prime Video.

Read the original article on People