Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon Take a Trip Down Memory Lane While Discussing Cruel Intentions

"They were tripping out," the actor recalls of Ava, 15, and Deacon, 10

By Zach Johnson Oct 07, 2014 3:35 PMTags

Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon took a trip down memory lane—literally!—while strolling through New York City's Central Park with their kids, Ava Phillippe, 15, and Deacon Phillippe, 10. The outing took place while Witherspoon, 38, was in town to promote Gone Girl, The Good Lie and Wild.

Catch Hell writer, producer and star Phillippe, 40, recounted the experience with his ex-wife and their children in a HuffPost Live interview Monday. "We got to meet up as a family and took a walk through Central Park with the kids, and it was funny," Phillippe said. "We were reminiscing then because we shot a lot of Cruel Intentions [there], so there we were with Ava and Deacon talking, and they were tripping out on the fact that we were there shooting a movie before they were even a thought in our minds."

It's been eight years since the co-stars separated, and since then, the exes have found ways to co-parent without adding any unnecessary drama. As Phillippe explained, "It's a feeling-out process and I think we've gotten to a really good place...It's going well, and she's happy and remarried [to CAA agent Jim Toth], and our kids are incredible. I'm proud of the way we've handled it and who our little people are."

Perhaps coincidentally, Witherspoon recently tweeted a photo of the Cruel Intentions cast that featured co-stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and her ex-hubby. "For my age, I've had such a long career. I did my first movie at 19, and I just turned 40. All of that stuff sort of becomes...I don't want to say background noise, but it becomes part of the territory. You see old photos here and there. You see acquaintances. I had a cool moment this morning on the Today show where I ran into [Joshua Jackson], who I hadn't seen in a long time. He was in Cruel Intentions...and he was so great," Philippe recalled. "He's such a nice guy."

Columbia Pictures

The ex-couple's children have yet to watch Cruel Intentions. "I guess Ava could," Philippe said, "but I've literally only done one or two non-R-rated movies." He added, "They haven't seen much of my work."

They are, however, allowed to watch their dad's 10-episode series for ABC, Secrets & Lies.

"We had a really funny moment on the set of Secrets & Lies with [co-star Juliette Lewis] because the day we wrapped The Way of the Gun, I flew to Cedars-Sinai and Ava was born. And so when Ava came to set to visit, Juliette was like, 'That's how long ago we worked!' She was a living representation of how long ago we made that film," he said of his daughter. "But, you know, those moments are neat. They're fun."