Ryan Phillippe on ‘I Love That for You’: A Perfect Cameo

Six episodes into I Love That for You, a glorious Showtime comedy from Vanessa Bayer and Jeremy Beiler, I didn’t think it was possible for me to love the show more than I already did. Bayer plays Joanna Gold, a childhood leukemia survivor who lies about having cancer as an adult to snag a hosting job on her favorite home shopping channel, the Special Value Network (SVN). Alongside her new boss, SVN CEO Patricia Cochran (Jenifer Lewis), and colleagues Jackie (Molly Shannon), Beth Ann (Ayden Mayeri), Perry (John Wilson), Jordan (Paul James), and Darcy (Matt Rogers), she sets out to become a star while protecting her massive secret. Six episodes in, the show’s more than proven itself as a compelling, original gem packed with consistently superb performances and jokes that don’t miss. But in Episode 7, seconds before the end credits roll, we get a Ryan Phillippe cameo that bumps I Love That for You’s signature chaos, awkwardness, and humor up to a whole other level.
Warning: The rest of this article contains spoilers for I Love That for You on Showtime.

The Cruel Intentions star, as Joanna knows him, is casually mentioned in Episode 4 when Patricia decides SVN will host a telethon to raise money for a cancer charity. The network agrees to partner with a Phillippe-associated organization, but the actor is largely forgotten until Episode 7 when Darcy calls Joanna to announce, “We got Phillippe for Cancer Thon!” Joanna promptly hangs up the phone and sobs, “I just didn’t want to meet Ryan Phillippe this way!”

The guilt of lying to her coworkers, SVN viewers, and actual cancer patients proves too difficult to bear, so with seconds left in Episode 7 (and moments until SVN’s telethon goes live), Joanna comes clean on set. The room is silent as her colleagues digest the news, and after a painful pause we hear footsteps and see a shadow creep out of the dark set. Suddenly, a pissed Ryan Phillippe enters the frame, wagging a finger and shouting, “HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO US?!” End credits roll to the horns of “All That She Wants” by Ace of Base, and viewers are left to savor the surprise — one that only gets better in the season finale.

After the unexpected cliffhanger, Episode 8 opens with SVN’s telethon going live. Tucked away backstage, we see Phillippe whining into his phone: “You have got to get me out of this. Everyone hates her!” But career suicide or not, the show must go on. When their joint segment arrives, Joanna introduces the painfully unamused actor to SVN’s viewers and asks him what he’s selling. He curtly declares, “Ryan Phillippe Steaks.” Chef’s kiss. (Or should I say Cheff’s kiss, for fans of the show.)

Joanna asks Phillippe what brought him “to the world of meats and beefs” and he tells her the “funny” story about how every time he goes out to dinner he orders steak. As Joanna shows off the box in which the four steaks and sauces ship, Phillippe delivers the witty, deeply cursed line that he improvised himself: “You gotta open [the box] right away, cause we don’t pack it in ice.” I yelped!

As the two continue discussing his assorted meat boxes, which sell for $49.96 to $101.96, Phillippe tests out several horrible taglines: “As we say in my house, nothing says meat like Ryan Phill-eappe” and “Nothing says fillet like Ryan Phillip-et.” Whether he’s intentionally mispronouncing his own last name to make it more meat-friendly or shooting the camera a series of withering stares, I Love That for You gives Phillippe a stage to show off his comedic chops.

Phillippe plays his scenes straight, appearing palpably disgusted to even breathe the same air as Joanna. His improv style seamlessly meshes with the show’s writing, and he effectively oozes the gutter vibes of someone who’s been massively betrayed seconds before stepping onto a live television set. To put it simply, the show found a perfect cameo in Phillippe. Tell me — what other random celebrity selling a fictional product would have been funnier in this moment? Guy Fieri Toupees? Melora Hardin Candles? Michael Phelps Meatballs? Okay that one would have been pretty funny. But, no. It had to be Ryan Phillippe Steaks, and the creatives behind I Love That for You knew that because they’re impeccably dialed into the delightfully quirky universe they conceived.

When asked who else was considered for the season’s big celebrity cameo, Beiler told TV Insider that “there was a pretty good list of ideas,” but when they saw Phillippe’s name they knew he was the one. As for nailing down the product, Beiler explained that a tequila brand was considered at one point, but “there was something so funny” about steaks, so they ultimately won out in the end.

“At one point, there was a joke — we even shot it — where [Phillippe is] like, ’Name another celebrity that sells steaks. I’m the first one!’ And [Vanessa’s] like, ‘Well, Donald Trump.’ And he goes, ‘Fuck,’” Beiler shared. But in the end, Phillippe didn’t need a Trump joke to get laughs. He just had to be himself.

Between I Love That for You and Phillippe’s recent work in MacGruber and Lady of the Manor, it’s clear the man is a comedic underdog who needs more funny roles, stat.