Deacon Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon’s Son, Enters the Family Business

Deacon Phillippe, the eldest son of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, is joining the family business. The 18-year-old scion will be making his acting debut with a guest spot on Netflix’s popular teen comedy, Never Have I Ever. But don’t expect him to play your favorite new character—according to ET, his part sounds something like a privileged villain.

The show centers teenager Devi Vishwakumar, a fictionalized version of co-creator Mindy Kaling’s own teenage years. Phillippe will play Parker, a member of Devi’s rival debate team from a tony private school. It sound like a classic teenage “total jerk” role, though Never Have I Ever does love to subvert a trope.

So, what does mom think? Witherspoon is on record that she isn’t eager to shepherd any of her children into show business. Her eldest child, Ava, isn’t afraid of the limelight. She’s been spotted out and about and on the red carpet with her mom for years now, appeared in a campaign for Pat McGrath Labs, and has a cool one million Instagram followers. (The 21-year-old is mostly concentrated on her studies at UC Berkley at the moment.) She hasn’t ruled out acting, but told E! News it isn’t her main concern. “I’m not so sure on where I’m going yet,” she said. “That’s kind of what I’m trying to figure out in this stage of my life, what’s the right fit for me and what’s going to do the best for others within that context, and what can I be most impactful with."

Deacon, however, seems a little more eager to perform. In addition to this suddenly burgeoning acting career, he’s also released music under the mononym Deacon. He’s recorded a duet with social media star Loren Gray, and has been teasing a Post Malone-inspired EP.