Ryan is the youngest of four children. His father, Jim, was a Vancouver food wholesaler. His mother, Tammy, was a retail-store saleswoman. Between 1991-93, Ryan taped "Fifteen" (1991), a "cheesy" Nickleodeon series, in Florida.
After the series ended, he returned to Vancouver where he played in a series of forgettable Tv movies. He did catch roles in Glenn Close's Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (1995) (TV) and CBS's update of In Cold Blood (1996) (TV). However, his run of luck had led him to decide to quit acting. One night, he ran into fellow Vancouver actor & native Chris Martin.
Martin found Ryan rather despondent and told him to pack everything, they were going to head to L.A. The two stayed in a cheap L.A. motel. On the first night of their stay, Reynold's jeep was rolled down hill and stripped. For the next four months, Ryan drove it without doors.
In 1997, he landed the role in "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place" (1998). Initially, the show was reviled by critics and seemed shaky for any type of ratings success. But it was renewed for a second season, but with a provision for a makeover by former "Roseanne" (1988) writer Kevin Abbott.
The show became a minor success and has led to additional film roles.
