Ryan Phillippe knows Reese Witherspoon ’s best qualities.

Indeed, the I Know What You Did Last Summer star recently shared how the former couple’s 21-year-old son Deacon takes after his ex-wife, to whom he was married for nearly 10 years before their 2008 divorce.

“He's got his mama's work ethic,” Ryan gushed to People of Deacon in an interview published Sept. 12. “He absolutely does.”

Ryan—who also shares Ava Phillippe , 26, with Reese, as well as Kai Knapp , 14, with ex Alexis Knapp —defended his kids’ decision to follow in their parents’ footsteps in the entertainment industry, despite the ongoing debate on nepotism in Hollywood.

“So many people end up doing what their parents do, to some degree or another,” Ryan explained. “I always get of

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