Ryan Kwanten

Last updated

Ryan Kwanten
Ryan Kwanten by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Kwanten in 2012
Born
Ryan Christian Kwanten

(1976-11-28) 28 November 1976 (age 47)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupations
  • Actor
  • producer
Years active1991–present

Ryan Christian Kwanten (born 28 November 1976) is an Australian actor and producer. He played Vinnie Patterson from 1997 to 2002 in the Australian soap opera Home and Away . After his stint ended, he joined the American teen drama series Summerland , portraying Jay Robertson. From 2008 to 2014, he played Jason Stackhouse in True Blood . From 2018 to 2019 he produced and starred in the crime drama series The Oath as Steve Hammond. In 2021 he starred in season one of the horror drama anthology series Them as George Bell. In 2022, he portrayed Thomas Weylin in Kindred , a series adaptation based on Octavia E. Butler's celebrated 1979 novel of the same name.

Contents

Early life

Kwanten was born one of three brothers in Terrigal, New South Wales. The boys were raised by mother Kris, a Lifeline op shop coordinator, and father Eddie Kwanten, a worker at NSW Maritime. Eddie is Dutch. [1] Ryan's brothers are Mitchell, a musician, and Lloyd, a doctor. Ryan attended St Paul's Catholic College in Manly and later earned a degree in commerce from The University of Sydney. [1]

Career

Kwanten began acting on the television shows A Country Practice , Hey Dad..! and Spellbinder . In 1997, he joined the cast of the Australian soap opera Home and Away , playing lifeguard Vinnie Patterson. He eventually chose to leave the series in 2002, shortly after his character married and became a father. Kwanten had previously guest starred on the serial as Robbie Taylor in 1994. Moving to the United States, Kwanten was cast as Jay Robertson in Summerland (2004–05). He appeared in the films Flicka (2006), with Maria Bello, Alison Lohman and Tim McGraw, and Dead Silence (2007), a horror film in which he played the leading role, Jamie Ashen. [2]

Kwanten appeared in a Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode that aired on 2 December 2008, in which he portrayed Dominic Pruitt, a US Marine Corps Master Sergeant accused of raping and murdering a pregnant fellow Marine. In 2009, he starred in the film Don't Fade Away with Mischa Barton and Beau Bridges. [3] In 2010, Kwanten voiced the role of Kludd in the animated-epic film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole , although he was originally set to voice the film's protagonist Sorren before the role went to Jim Sturgess.

Kwanten played the role of Jason Stackhouse in the HBO series True Blood , based on Charlaine Harris's The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels, which aired from 2008 until 2014. [4] In 2010 he starred in the psychological thriller Red Hill , which was directed by Patrick Hughes. [5] He won a lead role in the 2013 Joe Lynch comedy-horror film Knights of Badassdom along with Steve Zahn, Summer Glau and Peter Dinklage. [6] In October 2010, it was announced that Kwanten will play Charles Manson in an upcoming, yet-to-be-titled biopic, to be directed by Brad Anderson. [7] In 2012, he appeared in Joe Penna's video "Dual Action". In 2013, Kwanten played Marvel character "Venom" in the short film Truth in Journalism [8] and portrayed Conall in the 2014 action adventure film Northmen: A Viking Saga . [9]

In 2015, Kwanten voiced the role of Blinky Bill, a koala in Blinky Bill the Movie alongside Rufus Sewell, Toni Collette, Robin McLeavy, David Wenham, Richard Roxburgh, Deborah Mailman, and Barry Humphries.

In 2019, Kwanten was a series regular in the second season of Blumhouse Television and Facebook Watch's Sacred Lies: The Singing Bones , playing the character of Peter Wolfe, an inmate and the estranged father of the series' protagonist, Elsie, played by Jordan Alexander. The series takes inspiration from a Brothers Grimm fairy tale as well as real-life murder cases. [10]

From 2018 to 2019 he produced and starred in the crime drama series The Oath as Steve Hammond.

His most recent roles include 2067 , an Australian-American science fiction film in which he plays Jude Mathers, 2021's Them , as milkman George Bell, and Kindred, a TV adaptation of Octavia Butler's Novel of the same name.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1994 Signal One Kid
2002 The Junction Boys Claude GearheartTelevision film
2003 Liquid Bridge Nick McCallum
2004 America Brown Ricky Brown
2006 Flicka Howard McLaughlin
2007 Dead Silence Jamie Ashen
2010 Red Hill Shane Cooper
Griff the Invisible Griff
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole Kludd (voice)
Don't Fade Away Jackson White
2012 Not Suitable for Children Jonah
2013 Mystery Road Pete Bailey
Truth in Journalism Eddie Brock / Venom Short film
The Right Kind of Wrong Leo Palamino
Knights of Badassdom Joe
2014 Flight 7500 Brad Martin
Rio, I Love You Jai ArnottSegment: "Acho Que Estou Apaixonado"
Northmen: A Viking Saga Conall
Reach Me Jack Burns
2015 Kidnapping Freddy Heineken Jan "Cat" Boellard
Blinky Bill the Movie Blinky Bill (voice)
Blunt Force Trauma John
2016 Who Gets the Dog? Clay Lonnergan
2018 Supercon Matt Wheeler
The Hurricane Heist Breeze
2019 Kill Chain Ericson
2020 2067 Jude Mathers
2022 Expired Jack
2022 Glorious Wes
2022 Section Eight Jake Atherton
2023 Head Count Sawyer
2023 The Portrait Alex

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1991 The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes Stagecoach driverUncredited; episode: "The Boscombe Valley Mystery"
1992 Home and Away Boogie boarderEpisode 1018
A Country Practice Ben Lloyd2 episodes
1993–94 G.P. Scott Browning2 episodes
1994 Home and Away Robbie TaylorEpisode 1451
Hey Dad..! RichardEpisode: "Rebel Without a Clue"
1995 Echo Point Nathan PotterUnknown episodes
1996 Water Rats NipperEpisode: "Iron Man"
1997 Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord Josh MorganMain cast; 26 episodes
1997–2002 Home and Away Vinnie Patterson Role held: 14 July 1997 – 1 March 2002
2003 The Handler BarnesEpisode: "Off the Edge"
2004 Tru Calling Jake VoightEpisode: "Closure"
2004–05 Summerland Jay RobertsonMain cast; 26 episodes
2008–14 True Blood Jason Stackhouse Main cast; 80 episodes
2008 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Master Sgt. Dominic PruittEpisode: "PTSD"
2012 New Girl OliverEpisode: "Valentine's Day"
2014 Jake and the Never Land Pirates Brewster the Beast Trapper (voice)Episode: "Tick Tock Trap"
2014 The Eric Andre Show HimselfEpisode: "Ryan Kwanten; Béyoncé & Jay-Z"
2018–2019 The Oath Steve HammondMain role and producer
2019 Sacred Lies Peter Wolfe/HunterMain role
2019 Creepshow Alex ToomeyEpisode: “The Right Snuff/Sibling Rivalry”
2021 Them George Bell
2022 Kindred Tom WeylinMain cast

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResult
2009 Scream Award Best Horror ActorTrue BloodNominated [11]
Satellite Award Best Ensemble, Television Won [12] [13]
2010 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated [14] [15]
Teen Choice Award Choice TV Actor: Fantasy/Sci-Fi Nominated [16] [17]
Australian Film Institute Award Best Actor Nominated
Australians in Film Breakthrough AwardWon [18]
2011 Film Critics Circle of Australia Award Best ActorRed HillNominated
2015 Kids' Choice Award Favorite Voice in an Animated FilmBlinky Bill The MovieNominated

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Paquin</span> New Zealand actress (born 1982)

Anna Paquin is a New Zealand actress. She made her acting debut in the romantic drama film The Piano (1993), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 11, becoming the second-youngest winner in Oscar history. As a child actress, she had roles in Fly Away Home (1996), Jane Eyre (1996), Amistad (1997), The Member of the Wedding (1997), and A Walk on the Moon (1999), as well as in Cameron Crowe's comedy drama film Almost Famous (2000).

Summerland is an American drama television series created by Stephen Tolkin and Lori Loughlin. It is centered on a clothing designer in her 30s, Ava Gregory (Loughlin), raising her niece and nephews after their parents die in a tragic accident. They live with three of Ava's friends who also help raise the kids in the fictional city of Playa Linda, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grant Bowler</span> New Zealand–Australian actor

Grant Bowler is a New Zealand-Australian actor and television presenter who has worked in American, Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian film, television, and theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erik Knudsen</span> Canadian actor (born 1988)

Erik Knudsen is a Canadian actor. He is known for portraying Daniel Matthews in Saw II, Robbie Mercer in Scream 4, Alec Sadler in Continuum and Dale Turner in the CBS series Jericho.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Martini</span> American actor, theater, writer, and director

Maximilian Carlo Martini is an American actor, writer, and director known for his roles as Corporal Fred Henderson in Saving Private Ryan, Wiley in Level 9, First Sergeant Sid Wojo in The Great Raid, and as Master Sergeant Mack Gerhardt in the CBS military drama television series The Unit. He also starred in the film 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi as Mark Geist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiona Dourif</span> American actress and producer (born 1981)

Fiona Christianne Dourif is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her starring role as Nica Pierce in the Child's Play franchise, including the horror film Curse of Chucky (2013), its sequel Cult of Chucky (2017), and the television series Chucky (2021–present). She appears in these works alongside her father, Brad Dourif, who portrays the series' main antagonist, Chucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Lynch (director)</span> American film director (born 1976)

Joe Lynch is an American film and music video director, film producer, cinematographer, and actor.

Robin McLeavy is an Australian actress.

Strange Love (<i>True Blood</i>) 1st episode of the 1st season of True Blood

"Strange Love" is the pilot episode of True Blood. The episode was written and directed by Alan Ball and originally aired in the United States on HBO on September 7, 2008. In the episode, Sookie Stackhouse meets vampire Bill Compton and saves him from vicious vampire drainers, while her best friend Tara becomes the new bartender at Sam Merlotte's bar and Sookie's brother Jason finds himself accused of murder. The episode received generally positive reviews from critics. It was rated TV-MA for Adult Content, Adult Language, Nudity, Strong Sexual Content, and Violence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire van der Boom</span> Australian actress

Claire van der Boom is an Australian actress. She first became known to Australian audiences for her roles in the TV series Love My Way and East West 101. In 2008, she starred in the Australian neo-noir thriller The Square. Internationally, she is best known for her appearance as Stella Karamanlis in the HBO miniseries The Pacific, and her recurring role of Rachel the 2010 remake of Hawaii Five-O.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nelsan Ellis</span> American actor (1977–2017)

Nelsan Ellis was an American actor. He achieved critical acclaim for his portrayal of Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO television series True Blood (2008–2014), for which he won a Satellite Award from the International Press Academy, among other accolades. He also starred as Shinwell Johnson in Elementary from 2016 to 2017, and played a variety of guest roles on television.

<i>True Blood</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of the American television drama series True Blood premiered on September 7, 2008 and concluded on November 23, 2008. It consists of 12 episodes, each running approximately 55 minutes in length and was, for the most part, based on the novel Dead Until Dark, the first entry in The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. The story takes place in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, two years after vampires have made their presence known to mankind, and follows telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse as she attempts to solve a series of murders that seem to be motivated by a hatred of vampires.

<i>True Blood</i> season 2 Season of television series

The second season of the television series True Blood commenced airing in the United States on June 14, 2009, concluded on September 13, 2009, and contains 12 episodes. It is loosely based on the second novel of The Southern Vampire Mysteries, Living Dead in Dallas.

<i>True Blood</i> season 3 Season of television series

The third season of the television series True Blood premiered on June 13, 2010 simultaneously on HBO and HBO Canada. It concluded its run on September 12, 2010 and contained 12 episodes, bringing the series total to 36. It loosely follows the plot of the third novel of The Southern Vampire Mysteries series, Club Dead.

<i>Knights of Badassdom</i> 2013 American comedy-horror film directed by Joe Lynch

Knights of Badassdom is a 2013 American comedy horror film, directed by Joe Lynch, written by Kevin Dreyfuss and Matt Wall. It stars Ryan Kwanten, Steve Zahn, Summer Glau, and Peter Dinklage.

<i>True Blood</i> season 4 Season of television series

The fourth season of the television series True Blood contains 12 episodes, bringing the series total to 48. The season premiered on June 26, 2011. Though the storyline picks up twelve and a half months after the events of season three; the season still begins immediately after final scene of "Evil Is Going On". It is loosely based on the fourth novel in The Southern Vampire Mysteries series, Dead to the World.

<i>Griff the Invisible</i> 2010 Australian film

Griff the Invisible is a 2010 Australian romantic superhero comedy-drama film written and directed by Leon Ford. Its storyline centres on a socially awkward office worker bullied by his workmates during the daytime and turning himself at nighttime into a superhero who roams the streets of his neighbourhood and protects the innocent.

Karolina Wydra is a Polish-American actress and model. She played Dominika Petrova on the Fox medical drama series House, and vampire Violet Mazurski on the HBO dark fantasy series True Blood. Wydra has starred in the fantasy thriller After (2012), and the science fiction film Europa Report (2013). She portrayed Detective Dianne Kubek on ABC's short-lived crime drama series Wicked City and recurred as Izel in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

<i>Blinky Bill the Movie</i> 2015 Australian film

Blinky Bill the Movie is a 2015 animated adventure comedy film based on the Blinky Bill character created by Dorothy Wall for a children's book series in 1933. The film was produced by Flying Bark Productions and partly distributed and co-produced by Assemblage Entertainment and Telegael.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Gabriel</span> American actress (born 1981)

Betty Gabriel is an American actress. For her work in horror films, particularly Blumhouse films, Gabriel has been established as a scream queen. She has been nominated for two Black Reel Awards, a NAACP Image Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

References

  1. 1 2 Dasey, Annette (31 December 2009). "Ryan Kwanten: Shark Attack Survivor". Who . Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  2. Miska, Brad (9 June 2010). "'True Blood' Star Becomes One of the 'Knights of Badassdom'".
  3. "Ryan Kwanten Talks Secrets Of 'True Blood' Season 3, Gearing Up For World Cup Action".
  4. "Anna Paquin Learns True Blood". MovieWeb. The Hollywood Reporter. 25 February 2007. Archived from the original on 14 July 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2007.
  5. Teaser Trailer, Art, and Synopsis: Red Hill, dreadcentral.com; accessed 5 November 2017.
  6. More Knights of Badassdom Casting News: True Blood's Ryan Kwanten Joins in on the Mayhem, dreadcentral.com; accessed 5 November 2017.
  7. "Kwanten To Play Charles Manson". Contactmusic.com. 27 October 2010.
  8. McMillan, Graeme (1 August 2013). "'Truth in Journalism' Short Teases Spider-Man Villain (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter .
  9. Northmen: clip shows why you don't mess with Vikings, dreadcentral.com; accessed 5 November 2017.
  10. "'Sacred Lies: The Singing Bones': Juliette Lewis, Ryan Kwanten & Jordan Alexander To Star In Season 2 Of Blumhouse TV/Facebook Series". 27 June 2019.
  11. "Scream 2009". Spike.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 28 December 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  12. Waldman, Allison (22 December 2009). "Glee and Breaking Bad top the Satellite Awards". TV Squad. Newstex.
  13. Pond, Steve (21 December 2009). "'Hurt Locker,' 'Nine' Win Top Satellite Awards". The Wrap. Newstex.
  14. "Screen Actors Guild unveils film, TV award nominees". CBC News. 17 December 2009.
  15. "'Dexter,' 'Closer' earn 3 SAG nods apiece". United Press International. 17 December 2009.
  16. Hambly, Natalie (16 June 2010). "Teens take to Avatar star Sam Worthington". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  17. Soll, Lindsay (14 June 2010). "Teen Choice Awards 2010: First Round Of Nominees Announced". Hollywood Crush. MTV. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  18. "Hemsworth, Kwanten take breakthrough awards". ABC News (Australia). AAP. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2015.