Ryan Kwanten

An actor who seemed predestined for enlistment as a screen heartthrob, muscle-bound Aussie performer Ryan Kwanten specialized in portrayals of young, well-built, slightly jocky types, including lifeguards, surfers, and athletes. Born in 1976, Kwanten attained Australian celebrity in his early twenties with an ongoing role in the late '90s as lifeguard Vinnie Patterson on the long-running Australian soap Home and Away. That assignment imparted Kwanten with a large and loyal following that found its strongest base among female viewers, and prepped him for one of his first major Hollywood assignments: a lead portrayal of surfer Nick McCallum in the big screen surf #92;drama Liquid Bridge (2003). Beginning the following year, Kwanten turned up as surf shop proprietor Jay Robertson in both seasons of the WB network's Summerland; he also played a widower who comes face-to-face with a small town's ghastly curse in director James Wan's grisly #92;horror outing Dead Silence (2007) and then signed on to play Jason Stackhouse, the brother of a clairvoyant waitress (Anna Paquin) on Alan Ball's HBO vampire series True Blood. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

• Also Credited As:
  Ryan Christian Kwanten
• Born:
  Ryan Christian Kwanten on November 28, 1976 in Sydney, Australia
• Job Titles:
  Actor

Milestones

• 1992 Landed the regular role of Ben Lloyd on the long-running series, A Country Practice
• 1994 Made film debut in Signal One
• 1997 Joined the cast of the Australian series, Home and Away in the regular role of Vinnie Patterson
• 1997 Starred in the Australian series, Spellbinder II
• 2002 Made American acting debut in Junction Boys
• 2003 Landed a lead role as a surfer in the motion picture, Liquid Bridge
• 2004 Made debut as a regular cast member in an American series on the WB s Summerland
• 2004 Played the title character in the coming-of-age independent film, American Brown
• 2006 Co-starred as Alison Lohman’s brother in the film, Flicka
• 2007 Played a lead role in the horror movie, Dead Silence
• 2008 Cast as Jason Stackhouse in the HBO vampire series, True Blood
• Accompanied his brother to an audition where he gave a reading and was signed by the casting agent
• Cast in first role as a young surfer on the Australian TV series, Home and Away