Ryan was born in St. Louis, Missouri on August 9, 1972. He started his acting career on the popular television series "Mama's Family" as a guest star. From there he had several guest spots on such series as "Small Wonder" and "Family Matters". His break into film was in 1993 in the movie "At Home With the Webbers" were he played Jimmy Nelson.
However, he is most known for his performances in the films "Only and Strong" and "Children of the Corn II".
His more recent jobs have been "No Vacancy", "Love Happens" and a guest post on the series "G vs. E"

Trivia: Ryan was an early contestant on Star Search were he did a gymnastics type dance routine.