Tiffany Rose/Getty; abc Ryan Phillippe appeared on the daytime soap operaOne Life to Livefrom 1992–1993 His character, a gay teen named Billy Douglas, was the first gay teenager to be featured on daytime television Phillippe was 17 when he took the role, which was one of his first screen gigs Ryan Phillippeis opening up about his breakout role and how portraying the first gay teenager on daytime television shaped his career. Speaking to PEOPLE in this week's issue, Phillippe, 50, who played Billy Douglas onOne Life to Livefrom 1992 to 1993, describes the role as a "really profound experience." "I was so young that there were elements of me that were afraid because it was such a different time," he says, reflecting on portraying an LGBTQ+ teenager on screen in the early '90s. The fears weren't just his own — those close to him discouraged him from taking the role. "I think there were some fears associated with the point in time that we were at and it being before so many walls and ceilings have been broken in that regard," Phillippe says. "But I know that any fears that anyone had about me doing it immediately went away once I saw the reaction that it got from the people who viewed it." abc Despite his initial apprehension, the feedback was "almost instantaneous." He recalls receiving fan mail from kids saying, "I've never seen someone represent me in any entertainment before in my life," and from parents who said, "Watching this show on my lunch break gave me a way to connect with my LGBTQ child." As a father himself — he shares childrenAva, 25, andDeacon, 21, with ex-wifeReese Witherspoon, and sonKai, 13, with ex-girlfriend Alexis Knapp — Phillippe appreciates the importance of connection. He's currently starring alongside his eldest son in the new drama seriesMotorheads, now streaming on Amazon Prime. (Deacon plays the brother of Phillippe's character in flashbacks.) "When your kids go off to college, it's really unsettling. It really leaves a deficit, a hole in your life in some ways," says Phillippe. "This experience offered me that opportunity again to live together for a week." Michael Tullberg/Getty His role as Billy Douglas, meanwhile, remains a touchstone in Phillippe's career, shaping how he views his work and its impact. "As that job progressed, I realized how important it was to some people. And I was only 17 years old, so you don't really have a sense of that," he says. "It was such a different time, but I very much matured through having had that experience and seeing the impact that it had for others." While his influence on television is a source of pride, Phillippe sayshis childrenremain his greatest achievement. "I think seeing my kids succeed and achieve and wanting and hoping that they have happy and well-balanced lives seems to be the case with all three," he says. "I think that's where the biggest source of pride in my life comes from, is seeing them achieve and be good people." Read the original article onPeople
