Quick Facts
SagittariusBiography
Ryan Christian Kwanten (born 28 November 1976) is an Australian actor and comedian. 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. In 2008, he was cast as Jason Stackhouse in True Blood.
Early life
Kwanten was born in Sydney, the son of Kris, a Lifeline op shop coordinator, and Eddie Kwanten, a worker at NSW Maritime. His father is Dutch. Kwanten has two brothers, Mitchell, a musician, and Lloyd, a doctor. He attended St Paul's College in Manly and later earned a degree in commerce from the University of Sydney.
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 guested 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.
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 fellow Marine and her unborn baby.
In 2009, he starred in the film Don't Fade Away with Mischa Barton and Beau Bridges.
In 2010, Kwanten role the voice of Kludd in the animated-epic film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. Kwanten played the role of Jason Stackhouse in the HBO series True Blood, based on Charlaine Harris' The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels, which aired from 2008 until 2014. He stars in the psychological thriller Red Hill, which was directed by Patrick Hughes. Kwanten earned one of the lead roles in the Joe Lynch comedy-horror film Knights of Badassdom along with Steve Zahn, Summer Glau, and Peter Dinklage. 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.
In 2012, he appeared in MysteryGuitarMan's video "Dual Action". In 2013, Kwanten played Marvel character Eddie Brock/Venom in the short film Truth in Journalism and portrayed Conall in the action adventure film Northmen: A Viking Saga.
In 2015, Kwanten voiced the role of Blinky Bill, a Koala in Blinky Bill the Movie based on the iconic children's book by Dorothy Wall.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Signal One | Kid | |
| 2002 | Junction Boys, TheThe Junction Boys | Claude Gearheart | Television film |
| 2003 | Liquid Bridge | Nick McCallum | |
| 2004 | American 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 | |
| Right Kind of Wrong, TheThe Right Kind of Wrong | Leo Palamino | ||
| Knights of Badassdom | Joe | ||
| 2014 | Flight 7500 | Brad Martin | |
| Rio, I Love You | Jai Arnott | Segment: "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 | |
| 2017 | Supercon | Matt Wheeler | In post-production |
| Category 5 | In post-production | ||
| The Hurricane Heist | In post-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, TheThe Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes | Stagecoach driver | Uncredited; episode: "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" |
| 1992 | Home and Away | Boogie boarder | Episode 1018 |
| Country Practice, AA Country Practice | Ben Lloyd | 2 episodes | |
| 1993–94 | G.P. | Scott Browning | 2 episodes |
| 1994 | Home and Away | Robbie Taylor | Episode 1451 |
| Hey Dad..! | Richard | Episode: "Rebel Without a Clue" | |
| 1995 | Echo Point | Nathan Potter | Unknown episodes |
| 1996 | Water Rats | Nipper | Episode: "Iron Man" |
| 1997–2002 | Home and Away | Vinnie Patterson | Role held: 14 July 1997 – 1 March 2002 |
| 1997 | Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord | Josh Morgan | Main cast; 26 episodes |
| 2003 | Handler, TheThe Handler | Barnes | Episode: "Off the Edge" |
| 2004 | Tru Calling | Jake Voight | Episode: "Closure" |
| 2004–05 | Summerland | Jay Robertson | Main cast; 26 episodes |
| 2008–14 | True Blood | Jason Stackhouse | Main cast; 81 episodes |
| 2008 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Master Sgt. Dominic Pruitt | Episode: "PTSD" |
| 2012 | New Girl | Oliver | Episode: "Valentine's Day" |
| 2014 | Jake and the Never Land Pirates | Brewster the Beast Trapper (voice) | Episode: "Tick Tock Trap" |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Scream Award | Best Horror Actor | True Blood | Nominated |
| Satellite Award | Best Ensemble, Television | Won | ||
| 2010 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Nominated | |
| Teen Choice Award | Choice TV Actor: Fantasy/Sci-Fi | Nominated | ||
| Australian Film Institute Award | Best Actor | Nominated | ||
| Australians in Film | Breakthrough Award | N/A | Won | |
| 2011 | Film Critics Circle of Australia Award | Best Actor | Red Hill | Nominated |
| 2015 | Kids' Choice Award | Favorite Voice in an Animated Film | Blinky Bill The Movie | Nominated |