Ryan Drummond

Ryan Drummond
Born	Ryan Shawn Drummond (1973-01-10) January 10, 1973 (age 52) [1] Lima, Ohio, U.S. [1]
Education	Eastern Michigan University (BA)
Occupations	Actor voice actor comedian singer clown mime artist
Years active	1980–present
Spouse	Lisa Drummond ​ ​ (m. 2002;div. 2019)​
Children	2
Musical career
Genres	Pop musical theatre jazz opera
Instruments	Vocals
Member of	The A.Y.U. Quartet
Comedy career
Medium	Film television theatre
Genres	Sketch comedy improvisational comedy physical comedy clowning mime
Website	www.ryandrummond.com (archive)

Ryan Shawn Drummond (born January 10, 1973) ^{[1] [2] [3]} is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer, clown and mime artist, who is best known for his role as the original English voice of Sonic the Hedgehog in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise from 1998 to 2004. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Early life

Ryan Shawn Drummond was born in Lima, Ohio, on January 10, 1973. ^[1] He attended Clague Middle School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he participated in various children's theatre, beginning in 1980 at seven years old. ^{[3] [5]} Both of his parents also worked in theatre, his mother and father was both actors and theatre directors of the children theatre plays that Ryan participated in while in school. ^[3]

In 1993, he got his first paid acting job at a dinner theater while still attending college. ^[2] He graduated from the Eastern Michigan University in 1995, with a degree in theater. ^[3] Upon graduating, he moved to San Diego, California in 1996 to pursue his acting career. ^{[2] [6]}

Career

In 1997, Drummond got his first television acting role as DJ Johnny Jam in an episode of the television drama series Baywatch . He would later star in several other television shows, such as Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place , The Chronicle , The Invisible Man , Point Pleasant and Trauma . He also made a guest appearance in an episode on The Rosie O'Donnell Show in December 1998, during the Toys For Tots segment. ^[3] In film, he made his feature film debut in the 2000 teen cheerleading comedy film, Bring It On , as Theatre Boy. ^[7]

As a voice actor, he has provided many character voices in various video games titles. In 1998, he became the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog in the video games series for SEGA, he continued to voice the character for six more years until 2004, the video games includes Sonic Adventure , Sonic Adventure 2 , Sonic Heroes , Sonic Shuffle , Sonic Battle and Sonic Advance 3 . ^{[2] [3] [8] [9] [10]} He also voiced Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic Shuffle , Metal Sonic in Sonic Heroes and briefly voiced Shadow the Hedgehog for a few lines in Sonic Adventure 2 . ^{[11] [12] [13]}

Additionally, he also voiced Elliot Ballade in Blue Stinger , Insider in AirBlade , Bill Bardi in The Godfather II , J. Edgar Hoover and various other characters in Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth , Kevin Kertsman in Illbleed and has recently voiced the Doctor character in Mafia: Definitive Edition , where he also did the motion-capture. ^[14]

Drummond initially wanted to play Sonic in the anime adaptation Sonic X , and even offered to move to New York so he could play the role, 4Kids instead hired Jason Griffith who later became his successor. ^{[15] [2]}

In an interview, Drummond stated he was offered the chance by Sega to re-audition as Sonic during the development of Sonic Generations , but he rejected the role because Sega refused to give him a union contract. ^[16]

He also did acting and voice work in commercials, such as The Padres, McDonald's, Wheel Of Fortune, Sega Dreamcast, Ocean's Eleven, Checkmate Inc., Clear Factor Skincare, Hoist Fitness Systems, and Diedrich Coffee. ^{[17] [18] [19]} Additionally, he has done voices for theme parks including SeaWorld Orlando as Shamu for a few years and has also provided various voices in Legoland California. ^[4]

Outside of acting, Drummond has also worked in comedy, such as a mime artist and a clown. ^[2]

Today, Drummond mainly works in theatre. He starred in a musical comedy theatre show in San Diego titled Forever Plaid . ^[20] He would later star in many other musical theatre productions, such as Godspell , Into the Woods , City of Angels , Zhivago , The Producers , Hairspray , The Wedding Singer , Anything Goes , Singin' in the Rain , Mary Poppins , Sunday in the Park with George , Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus and most recently, Groundhog Day . ^{[21] [3] [22] [23]}

In 2020, Drummond would once again reprise his role as the voice of Sonic in the radio fan web-series Sonic and Tails R. ^{[24] [25]}

Music career

Drummond was a member and the bass vocalist in the music group, The A.Y.U. Quartet for five years. ^[2] Together, the music group has released three albums. ^[5]

Personal life

Upon moving to San Diego, California, Drummond met his wife Lisa. ^[2] The couple were married on October 8, 2002. ^[2] Together they have two sons. ^[2] As of 2019, the couple have since divorced. ^[2] He currently resides in San Francisco, California. ^[26]

Drummond would update his fans about his personal life from time to time on his online blog. ^[27]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2000	Bring It On	Theatre Boy		[7]
2001	Poor Man	Mime	Short film	[7]
2002	Trial By Pies	—		[7]
2003	Miniature Sun	—		[7]
2004	The Color Of Corruption	—		[7]
2005	Man of the House	—		[7]
2008	Based on a True Story	Hunter		[7]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1997	Baywatch	DJ Johnny Jam	Episode: "Baywatch at Sea World"	[28]
1998	Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place	Isaac Glickstein	Episode: "Two Guys, a Girl and an Elective"	[28]
1999	The Rosie O'Donnell Show	Sonic the Hedgehog	Voice; Season 4, Episode 69	[3] [28]
2001	The Chronicle	Andy	Episode: "What Gobbles Beneath"	[28]
	The Invisible Man	Mime, Scientologist	Episodes: "Money for Nothing: Part 2", "Immaterial Girl"	[28]
2002	Art of Betrayal	—	1 episode	[28]
2004	Veronica Mars	Roger	Episode: "You Think You Know Somebody"	[28]
2005	Point Pleasant	Booth Vendor	Episode: "Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Choked"	[28]
2009	Trauma	Fair Patron	Episode: "All's Fair"
2011	Dual Suspects	Robert Evans	Episode: "Fast Food Fatality"

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1997	The Three Decoders: Riddle of the Ring	Sheldon		[2]
	The Three Decoders 2: Key to the Carousel			[2]
1999	Sonic Adventure	Sonic the Hedgehog		[4] [14]
	Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned for Danger	Rick Arlen		[14]
	Blue Stinger	Eliot Ballade		[14]
	Twisted Metal 4	Pizza Boy		[14]
2000	Evil Dead: Hail to the King	Merchant		[14]
	Danger Girl	Additional voices
	The Mummy	Jonathan Carnahan
	Sonic Shuffle	Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna		[4] [11] [14]
2001	Undying	Various
	Illbleed	Kevin Kertsman		[14]
	Zax: The Alien Hunter	Zax, Korbo, Villager
	Sonic Adventure 2	Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog (few lines)		[4] [14]
2002	AirBlade	Insider		[14]
	Sonic Adventure 2: Battle	Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog (few lines)		[4]
	NASCAR Racing 2002 Season	Spotter		[14]
	Backyard Baseball 2003	Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Cliff Floyd, Frank Thomas, Achmed Khan, Ernie Steele, Pablo Sanchez, Tony Delvecchio		[14]
	Backyard Football	Achmed Khan, Amir Khan, Ernie Steele, Pablo Sanchez, Tony Delvecchio		[14]
2003	Chrome	Additional voices
	Rogue Ops
	Backyard Soccer 2004	Additional voices		[14]
	Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut	Sonic the Hedgehog	Archive recordings	[4]
2004	Duel Masters	Additional voices
	Sonic Battle	Sonic the Hedgehog		[4] [14]
	Sonic Heroes	Sonic the Hedgehog, Metal Sonic		[4] [14] [12]
	Gangland	Black Boss, Bouncer, Croupier, Civilian, Sniper, Cop, Ninja, Additional voices
	Spy Fiction	Michael Kwain
	Sonic Advance 3	Sonic the Hedgehog		[4] [14]
	Sega Superstars			[4] [14]
2005	Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth	J. Edgar Hoover, Seaman Willie Thompson, Experiment, Poorhouse Resident, Cutter Urania Seaman, Yithian, Additional voices
	Cold War	Carter, scientist, Civilian
2006	Scared Rings	Additional voices
2008	The Godfather II: Crime Rings	Bill Bardi
2009	The Godfather II	Bill Bardi, Additional voices		[14]
	Guitar Hero: Van Halen	Additional voices
2020	Mafia: Definitive Edition	Doctor	Also motion-capture	[14] [29]

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2020–2021, 2024	Sonic and Tails R	Sonic the Hedgehog	11 episodes YouTube fan-made series	[24]

Theme parks

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1999	SeaWorld San Diego	Shamu		[4]
	Legoland California	Character voices		[4]

Commercials

Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
The Padres	Baseball fan	Channel 4	[17]
McDonald's	Sonic the Hedgehog	Voice	[17]
Wheel of Fortune	—	King World distribution	[17]
Sega Dreamcast	Sonic the Hedgehog	Voice	[17]
Oceans Eleven Casino	Himself		[17]
Checkmate Inc.	—		[17]

Ads

Title	Ref.
Mastercard	[19]
Pizza Hut	[19]
Weekenders Clothing Company	[19]
Chrysler	[19]
Jack in the Box	[19]
Washington Mutual Bank	[19]
Carl's Jr.	[19]
Petco	[19]
Deputy Inc.	[19]
Sunrider	[19]
Applied Micro Circuits	[19]
Lifeforce	[19]
Ford Motor Company	[18]
CTX International	[18]
Mamillian Express	[18]

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1996	Festival Of Christmas: Once Upon A Time...	Thorr	Lamb's Players Theatre	[23]
	I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change	Man #1	Off-Broadway	[21]
1998	Show Boat	Windy, Jim, Backwoodsman	Off-Broadway	[21]
2001	Kiss Me, Kate	Bill Calhoun, Lucentio	West End	[21]
	Marooned! with Clyde and Seamore	Juan Ho	SeaWorld San Diego	[21]
	Pinocchio	Pinocchio	Off-Broadway	[21]
2000–2005	Forever Plaid	Smudge	Lamb's Players Theatre, Latina Playhouse Moulton Theatre	[20] [30] [21] [23]
2002	Godspell	John the Baptist	Lamb's Players Theatre	[23] [21]
2003	Cotton Patch Gospel	Simon Rock Johnson	Lamb's Players Theatre	[23] [21]
	Festival of Christmas: It's Christmas And It's Live!	Ronald Harmon	Lamb's Players Theatre	[23]
	Shear Madness	Eddie Lawrence	Off-Broadway	[21]
	Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat	Judah, Levi	Off-Broadway	[21]
2005	Palm Beach	Ensemble	La Jolla Playhouse Mandela Weiss Theatre	[23] [21]
2006	Zhivago	Performer	La Jolla Playhouse Mandela Weiss	[23] [21]
	Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical	Young Max	Old Globe Theatre	[21]
	Into the Woods	Baker	Lamb's Players Theatre	[23] [21]
2008	Caroline, or Change	Stuart Gellman	Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts	[23]
	Annie Get Your Gun	Frank Butler	John Muir Amphitheater	[23]
2009	The Producers	Leo Bloom	Lesher Center for the Arts Hofmann Theatre	[23]
	The Wedding Singer	Robbie Hart	Willows Theatre Company Concord	[23]
	On the Town	Ozzie	Lesher Center for the Arts Hofmann Theatre	[23]
2010	A Grand Night for Singing	Lesher Center for the Arts	Cosmopolitan Cabaret	[23]
	Hairspray	Corny Collins	Woodminster Amphitheater	[23]
	She Loves Me	Georg Nowack	Lesher Center for the Arts	[23] [31]
2011	Curtains	Lieutenant Frank Cioffi	Foothill Collage Lehman Theatre	[23]
	The Fantasticks	El Gallo	Willows Theatre Company Concord	[23]
	A Midsummer Night’s Dream	Puck	Off-Broadway	[21]
2012	Anything Goes	Moonface Martin	Foothill Collage Lehman Theatre	[23]
	Assassins	Samuel Byck	The Ashby Stage	[23]
	Pal Joey	Ludlow Lowell	The Eureka Theatre	[23]
2013	Singin' in the Rain	Cosmo Brown	Lester Center for the Arts	[23]
	Carnival	Paul Berthalet	The Eureka Theatre	[23]
	1776	Richard Henry Lee	American Conservatory Theater	[23]
2013–2014	Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness!	Dearlove	The Ashby Stage	[23]
2014	Painting the Clouds With Sunshine	Russell James	The Eureka Theatre	[23]
	Du Barry Was a Lady	Jones, Le Docteur, Paingrille	The Eureka Theatre	[23]
	Life Could Be a Dream	Denny	Lester Center for the Arts	[23]
2015	Nick & Nora	Nick Charles	The Eureka Theatre	[23]
	Company	David	San Francisco Playhouse	[21]
2015, 2016	Scrooge in Love	Jacob Marley	The Eureka Theatre	[23]
2016	City of Angels	Buddy Fidler, Irwin S. Irving	San Francisco Playhouse	[23]
2017	La Cage aux Folles	Georges	San Francisco Playhouse	[23]
2017–2018	A Christmas Story	The Old Man	San Francisco Playhouse	[23]
2017–present	Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus	Performer		[3] [22]
2018	Sunday in the Park with George	Jules, Bob Greenberg	San Francisco Playhouse	[23]
2018–2019	Mary Poppins	Mr. George Banks	San Francisco Playhouse	[23]
2019–2020	Groundhog Day	Phil Connors	San Francisco Playhouse	[32] [21]

Discography

• S.C.R.A.M. (1994) – Harmony, lead vocals
• Atomic Young Ultrasonics (1996) – Harmony, lead vocals
• Acappella Yuletide Uproar (2010) – Harmony, lead vocals

References

1. "Ryan Drummond interview". Angelfire . Retrieved February 15, 2020.
2. Orr, John (July 27, 2011). "Seen and heard: The wide-ranging career of Ryan Drummond". MercuryNews.com. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
3. Arbor, Ann (January 28, 2017). "Huron High and EMU alumnus starring in 'Men are from Mars' in Detroit". Milve.com. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
4. "RyanDrummond.com: Voice-Overs". www.ryandrummond.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
5. "Ryan Drummond short bio".
6. Coddon, David L. (October 24, 2024) [October 24, 2024]. "S.D. Arts and Culture Newsletter: Aimee Mann returns to Belly Up next week". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on December 23, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
7. "RyanDrummond.com: Film". www.ryandrummond.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
8. Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast). SEGA. Scene: Credits. English Character Voices
9. Sonic Team (December 5, 2003). Sonic Heroes (GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, & Windows). SEGA. Scene: Credits. English Voices
10. Sonic Team & Hudson Soft (November 14, 2000). Sonic Shuffle (Dreamcast). SEGA. Scene: Credits. Voice Acting
11. "Sonic Cult // Sonic – Post 16 bit // Sonic Adventure // Interviews // Interview with Ryan Drummond //". www.sonic-cult.org. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
12. Ryan Drummond [@RYANtheDRUMMOND] (April 6, 2015). "@jakefagan1233 I was Knuckles for a short while, and Metal Sonic for a short while. Find out where!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
13. "Drummond's confirmation". Twitter. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
14. "Ryan Drummond". Behind The Voice Actors.
15. Drummond, Ryan. "Current Events: July". Ryan Drummond (Blog). Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
16. Oliver, Tristan. "Report: Drummond Re-Auditioned for Sonic VA During Generations Development". TSSZ News. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
17. "RyanDrummond.com: Commercials". www.ryandrummond.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
18. "RyanDrummond.com: Printed Ads". www.ryandrummond.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
19. "RyanDrummond.com: Industrials". www.ryandrummond.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
20. Writer, PAM KRAGEN – Staff. "Welk's fine 'Plaid' is worth another look". sandiegouniontribune.com.
21. "RyanDrummond.com: Theatre". www.ryandrummond.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
22. ""Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus" actor says show remains relevant 28 years later". February 2020.
23. "Ryan Drummond theatre profile".
24. "Fan-Made Sonic Audio Play Featuring Original Sonic Adventure Voice Actor Gets Second Season". GameRant. January 28, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
25. Drummond, Ryan (April 23, 2020). "Something fun this way comes..." X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved November 8, 2023.
26. Drummond, Ryan. "This update is for my mom and everyone else". Current Events. Archived from the original on July 26, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
27. Drummond, Ryan. "RyanDrummond.com: Current Events". www.ryandrummond.com. Blogspot. Archived from the original on July 26, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
28. "RyanDrummond.com: Television". www.ryandrummond.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
29. "Mafia Definitive Edition Game Credits".
30. "'Forever Plaid' not bad, but by no means great". April 17, 2003.
31. Robert Taylor (August 31, 2010). "A Beautiful Romance" . Retrieved March 7, 2025.
32. "Groundhog Day the Musical – San Francisco Playhouse Official Site". San Francisco Playhouse. Retrieved October 18, 2019.

External links

• Official website (archived)
• Ryan Drummond at IMDb
• Ryan Drummond on Twitter
• Ryan Drummond on Instagram