Ryan Kwanten
Ryan Christian Kwanten 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. From 2008 to 2014, he played Jason Stackhouse in True Blood and currently stars in The Oath.
Early life
Kwanten was born one of three brothers in Sydney, the boys were raised by mother Kris, a Lifeline op shop coordinator, and Eddie Kwanten, a worker at NSW Maritime. His father is Dutch. He has two brothers, Mitchell, a musician, and Lloyd, a doctor. He attended St Paul's Catholic 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 '. 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. He appeared in the films Flicka, with Maria Bello, Alison Lohman and Tim McGraw, and Dead Silence, a horror film in which he played the leading role, Jamie Ashen.
Kwanten appeared in a ' 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. In 2010, Kwanten voiced the role of Kludd in the animated-epic film ', 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. In 2010 he starred in the psychological thriller Red Hill, which was directed by Patrick Hughes. 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. 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 Joe Penna's video "Dual Action". In 2013, Kwanten played Marvel character "Venom" in the short film Truth in Journalism and portrayed Conall in the 2014 action adventure film '.
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 based on the iconic children's book by Dorothy Wall.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1991 | ' | Stagecoach driver | Uncredited; episode: "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" |
| 1992 | Home and Away | Boogie boarder | Episode 1018 |
| 1992 | ' | Ben Lloyd | 2 episodes |
| 1993–94 | G.P. | Scott Browning | 2 episodes |
| 1994 | Home and Away | Robbie Taylor | Episode 1451 |
| 1994 | 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 | ' | Josh Morgan | Main cast; 26 episodes |
| 2003 | ' | 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 | 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 | Episode: "Tick Tock Trap" |
| 2014 | The Eric Andre Show | Himself | Episode: "Ryan Kwanten; Béyoncé & Jay-Z" |
| 2018–present | The Oath | Steve Hammond | Main role |