Ryan Phillippe is still dirty hot, I know. Many of us have some lingering Cruel Intentions nostalgia no matter how we try to bury those memories. Ryan’s promoting the first season of Secrets and Lies and evokes his younger self in his latest interview. Dude says people keep carding him in clubs, but don’t be fooled. What he’s really trying to say is this: “I still go to clubs, so I’m cool.” I’m guessing the bartenders card him because — as in many establishments — there’s a laminated policy to card anyone who could be mistaken for under 40.

Does Ryan pass for under 40? Sure, maybe 35. But he doesn’t look 20 as he suggests when claiming people mistake him for his daughter’s brother. He keeps bringing Ava into interviews. Ryan mentioned his depression last month and referenced Ava’s similar sensitivity. That was kind of a douche-dad move. Leave Ava alone. She’s a teenager and has enough growing pains already without Dad mentioning her emotional state to the press. We don’t have any recent shots of Ava & Ryan together that are newer than 2012. That’s okay, the pics aren’t important. The gist of this story is that Ava is 15, and Ryan thinks he can pass for a 20-year-old bro. Some excerpts:

Being a sex symbol at a young age: “Things were really not that hard back then. They were uncomplicated, compared to now. That was sort of the end of my innocence. I made Cruel Intentions when I was 23, and I did I Know What You Did Last Summer when I was 21 or 22, so that was like the end of my youth, because I went straight into marriage and kids.

On his latest role: “As an actor or artist, the richer and more complex our lives become, the performances get that way, too, and Secrets and Lies is as complicated as a drama can get. It’s Shakespeare-heavy. Playing a father whose life is being torn apart — my younger self could not relate to any of those things, but I do, very, very much, at my age now.”

On being 40: “It’s crazy. And still, I get carded constantly. My daughter hates it, because sometimes people have thought I’m her brother, and she’s freaked out by that.”

On the I Know What You Did Last Summer remake: “Oh, come on! No. I think it’s a good idea. I’m excited about it. It just makes me feel old.”

[From Variety]

Ryan’s 40 years old now and (perhaps unconsciously) feels the need to humblebrag. I get it. Gwyneth Paltrow has destroyed the humblebragging pleasure for everyone, and Ryan may not be up on Goopster gossip. But he’s still doing the deed. I feel for Ryan because he mentions feeling “old” when the journo brings up a remake to one of his more prominent films. He’ll be fine. He may be dating a 23-year old (Paulina Slagter), but he’s feeling his mortality. It happens.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN