Ryan has been writing since he found, then promptly broke, his grandmother’s typewriter as a toddler. His apology was his first performance.
Headshot by Elias Rios.
Since then, he has gone on to write sketches, short films, songs, plays, and many misplaced notes to self. He has performed on stage across the United States, worked as a reporter for an NBC affiliate, and has also been on television in France several times (it’s important to note Ryan speaks French and will bring it up, like, a lot).
Ryan was a founding member of Wilmington, North Carolina sketch comedy troupe Pineapple-Shaped Lamps, and eventually ran the writing division as Head Writer.
Now based in Chicago, he has trained at iO and The Second City. During the spring of 2020, he co-created (with Dr. Stephanie McCullough) and hosted an online sketch revue called “Chicago Comedy Co-op 19,” a showcase of comedy created during the COVID-19 lockdown period. He is currently an online video reporter for entertainment website CBR.com.
Ryan is the author of the novella “Fragments from 5th Ave,” which Ben Steelman of the Wilmington Star-News praised as “a ‘Big Chill’ of the Jazz Age.” He is currently searching for literary representation for his next Wilmington-set novel. If you enjoy historical fiction, silent movies, fights for racial justice, and lots of scenes that take place on public transit, he would love to hear from you.
For acting purposes, he is represented by Veva Riley at Promote Talent Agency.
Reporting for CBR
With Sarah Liken and Jack McWilliams in the musical short "Tired and Overworked"
In short film "The Offer" (dir. Dena Altamore)
On set for a commercial
On stage at The Annoyance (Chicago, IL)
On stage with Phoebe Perry and Nicole Lang at iO Chicago
As Magnus the Swedish Horse for "Chicago Comedy Co-op 19"
On stage with Sarah Liken and Tania Córdova as part of their Second City Training Center Conservatory show
On stage with Sarah Liken as part of their Second City Training Center Conservatory show
With his novel, "Fragments from 5th Ave"
Arguing with flowers in a sketch
With Holly Cole as an Icelandic tour guide in "Iceland Travel Ad" sketch
With Brad Kemp recording the vocals for "Tired and Overworked"
Still from musical short "Tired and Overworked"