Actor Ryan Phillippe is facing a million dollar lawsuit as his ex-girlfriend claims he threw her down a flight of stairs in a drunken rage.

Elsie Hewitt, 21, has claimed in court documents the 43-year-old allegedly punched and kicked her in his Los Angeles home following an argument July 3.

“He grabbed Hewitt’s upper arm so tightly that his grip left heavy bruises on her arm hours later. He then braced his body and violently threw her down his staircase as hard as he could,” she claimed in court documents obtained by The Blast.

The model was granted a temporary restraining order against Phillippe after she was taken to a nearby medical centre.

No criminal charges were laid and Phillippe has denied the assault.

True or not, news of the father-of-three's alleged assault is a reminder the plot within the Emmy-awarding winning TV show his ex-wife Reese Witherspoon starred is anything but fiction for millions of women worldwide.

Based on a novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty, Big Little Lies follows the lives of four women whose kids attend the same primary school - one of whom is being physically abused by her husband behind closed doors.

In one scene Nicole Kidman's character Celeste is thrown against a wall by her abusive partner Perry, played by Alexander Skarsgård. It's the first moment she realises her husband might kill her.

The inspiration for Skarsgård's character came from a "really horrible ex-boyfriend" Moriarty revealed backstage at the Emmy awards when speaking to Elle.

Meanwhile, Phillippe vehemently denied the claims against him in a statement released on Twitter.

"This is wrong. This is not who I am. Every one of my accuser's allegations are false," he wrote.

Hewitt's lawyer told Page Six any money of the US$1 million ($1.25 million) awarded to her would be donated to women's charities.

Phillippe has two children with Witherspoon, Ava, 18 and 13-year-old Deacon. He also shares six-year-old daughter Kai Knapp, with former partner Alexis Knapp.

Listen to Mia Freedman, Laura Brodnik and Jackie Lunn talk all things Big Little Lies.