Did Reese Witherspoon Recommend Ryan Phillippe for His Iconic ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ Role

Twenty-eight years after the release of the original I Know What You Did Last Summer movie and 27 years after its sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer was released, a remake of the 1997 cult-classic premiered on July 18, 2025.

With the buzz surrounding the new movie, Prime Video took to Instagram to celebrate the original film, which can be purchased on its streaming platform.

In addition to sharing a clip of the 1997 film, Prime Movies also shared a fun fact about the film.

“Reese Witherspoon auditioned for I Know What You Did Last Summer but changed her mind and withdrew,” the caption claims. “Instead, she recommended her then-boyfriend, Ryan Phillippe for the role of Barry.”

In the comments fans swooned over Phillippe. “He’s literally the most gorgeous human I’ve ever laid eyes on,” one commenter wrote, while others marveled at the chemistry he and Witherspoon once shared.

“Wow so Reese and Ryan were already together when they filmed Cruel Intentions!?! No wonder why the chemistry was so perfect,” another comment read.

However, Phillippe, 50, himself responded to the fun fact, admitting he’s not sure Prime’s claim is all that accurate.

“Not sure that story is truuuuuue, but it’s very cute.😊,” he wrote.

According to People, Witherspoon, 49, and Phillippe met at her 21st birthday party. She told Jane Magazine in 1998 that she doesn’t “know what came over me — maybe the seven Midori sours — but I told him, ‘I think you’re my birthday present.’”

“He thought it was so flattering and now that I think about it … how embarrassing,” Witherspoon admitted. A year after meeting, she and Phillippe got engaged while filming their hit movie together, Cruel Intentions.

In 1999, Witherspoon and Phillippe got married before welcoming two children into the world, Ava, now 25, and Deacon, 21.

Nine years after meeting, Witherspoon and Phillippe announced their divorce in 2006. Despite their divorce, Witherspoon and Phillippe managed to create a respectful coparenting relationship with each other, People reported.

“Things are great,” he once told Ellen DeGeneres in 2010. “It is so important as divorced parents to keep that connection. It makes the kids feel better that the parents are interacting. We go to all the school events together, and we’re there for each other.”