Ryan Phillippe shocked by photographer deaths

Ryan Phillippe has spoken of his shock following the death of two photojournalists in Libya just hours before he premiered his new film about renowned combat snapper Kevin Carter.

The Hollywood actor stars as real life photographer Greg Marinovich opposite Taylor Kitsch as Carter in The Bang Bang Club, which follows the story of a group of photojournalists working in South Africa during the fall of Apartheid.

The film was screened at New York's Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday (21Apr11), a day after documentary-maker/photographer Tim Hetherington and veteran photojournalist Chris Houndros were killed in the ongoing conflict in Libya.

Phillippe admits the news came as a shock and he felt overwhelmed by the tragic timing, telling reporters on the night of the premiere, "It's crazy that that incident happened yesterday and the film is released tomorrow. It's really unbelievable. I think it just shows you the risk and the chances that these people take to tell the stories that need to be told.

"There are so many other people losing their lives in Libya... I just think this happens to be journalists and renowned journalists. But every day there's civilians dying in Libya."