# Ryan Hurst

Ryan Douglas Hurst, also known as Gobind Seva Singh (born June 19, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Gerry Bertier in Remember the Titans (2000) and Opie Winston in the FX drama series Sons of Anarchy (2008–2012). He portrayed the Norse god Thor in the 2022 video game God of War Ragnarök, for which he received a BAFTA Award nomination. He also portrayed "Lil Foster" Farrell in the Outsiders (2016–2017) and Beta in the AMC horror drama series The Walking Dead (2019–2020).

## Early life

Hurst was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Candace Kaniecki, an acting coach, who currently runs the Candace Kaniecki (Herman) Acting School, and Rick Hurst, an actor best known for playing "Deputy Cletus Hogg" in The Dukes of Hazzard. He attended Santa Monica High School.

## Career

Growing up in a Hollywood family, Hurst made a very early start in show business, with a recurring role in the NBC teen situation comedy series Saved by the Bell: The New Class. In the 1998 epic war film Saving Private Ryan, Hurst portrayed Michaelson, a paratrooper who, despite a temporary hearing loss, is able to communicate to Captain John H. Miller (Tom Hanks) the approximate location of Private Ryan. In 2000, Hurst followed this with a role in Rules of Engagement and the central supporting role of Gerry Bertier in Remember the Titans. Additionally, he appeared in the war film We Were Soldiers (2002) as Sgt. Ernie Savage, played the football player Lump Hudson in the black comedy thriller film The Ladykillers (2004), and starred in the TNT police drama series Wanted (2005). From 2005 to 2007, Hurst gained recognition for portraying the recurring role of Allison DuBois' half-brother, Michael Benoit, in NBC's supernatural procedural drama series Medium.
Hurst's big break came when he was cast as Opie Winston in the FX crime drama series Sons of Anarchy. Originally a recurring cast member in the first season, he was promoted to main cast member for the following season and went on to become a fan favorite. His character, newly released from a five-year prison stint and "living right", but not making ends meet, goes back to SAMCRO to provide for his family, despite his wife's objections and his knowing the risks. Hurst's portrayal of Opie earned him the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film in 2011. Also in 2011, Hurst voiced Jedidiah in the animated box office hit Rango. He also stars in the WGN America series Outsiders. In August 2018, it was announced that he would star as Beta on AMC's The Walking Dead. His debut episode, "Guardians", premiered on March 3, 2019.
In 2022, Hurst voiced Thor in God of War: Ragnarök and also provided the motion-capture.

## Personal life

Hurst and Molly Cookson met in 1994 and married in May 2005. Together, they founded the production company Fast Shoes. In April 2013, Hurst purchased a 3,400 square-foot home in Woodland Hills, California, for $1.71 million.
He converted to Sikhism and his Sikh name is Gobind Seva Singh.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1997 | The Postman | Eddie March | |
| 1998 | Patch Adams | Neil | |
| 1998 | Saving Private Ryan | Paratrooper Michaelson | |
| 2000 | Rules of Engagement | Captain Hustings | |
| 2000 | Remember the Titans | Gerry Bertier | |
| 2001 | Perfect Lover | Guy | |
| 2001 | Venus and Mars | Roberto | |
| 2002 | We Were Soldiers | Sgt. Ernie Savage | |
| 2002 | Lone Star State of Mind | Tinker | |
| 2004 | The Ladykillers | Lump Hudson | |
| 2006 | Noble Things | Kyle Collins | |
| 2008 | Chasing the Green | Ross Franklin | |
| 2011 | Rango | Jedidiah | Voice |
| 2013 | CBGB | Mad Mountain | |
| 2018 | A Million Little Pieces | Hank | |
| 2020 | Superman: Man of Tomorrow | Lobo | Voice |
| 2023 | Desperation Road | | |
| TBA | The Odyssey † | | Filming |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1993 | Saved by the Bell: The New Class | Crunch Grabowski | 2 episodes |
| 1994 | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Student Actor | Episode: "Divas" |
| 1995–1996 | Campus Cops | Wayne Simko | 9 episodes |
| 1995 | JAG | Dirk Grover | Episode: "Shadow" |
| 1996 | Boston Common | Nikolai | 2 episodes |
| 1996 | Wings | Barry | Episode: "Too Beautiful for You" |
| 1999 | L.A. Doctors | Kevn Raives | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | Touched by an Angel | Doug | Episode: "Two Sides to Every Angel" |
| 2002 | John Doe | Elvis Braithwaite | Episode: "Mind Games" |
| 2002 | Taken | Adult Tom Clarke | 5 episodes |
| 2004 | Dr. Vegas | Steve | Episode: "All In" |
| 2005 | House | Sam McGinley | Episode: "The Mistake" |
| 2005 | Wanted | Agent Jimmy McGloin | 13 episodes |
| 2005–2007 | Medium | Michael Benoit | 3 episodes |
| 2006 | Everwood | Ed Carnahan | Episode: "Across the Lines" |
| 2006 | CSI: Miami | Detective Michael Lloyd | Episode: "Curse of the Coffin" |
| 2007 | Raines | Marco | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2007 | Heartland | Mark Evans | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2008–2012 | Sons of Anarchy | Harry "Opie" Winston | 54 episodes |
| 2011 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Doug Loveless | Episode: "Bombshell" |
| 2013 | King & Maxwell | Edgar Roy | 10 episodes |
| 2015–2017 | Bates Motel | Chick Hogan | 15 episodes |
| 2015 | Axe Cop | Chupacabra | Voice, episode: "Night Mission: The Extincter" |
| 2016–2017 | Outsiders | Li'l "Foster" Farrell | 26 episodes |
| 2019 | Bosch | Hector Bonner | 8 episodes |
| 2019–2020 | The Walking Dead | Beta | Recurring (Season 9) Main cast (Season 10) 14 episodes |
| 2019 | Fear the Walking Dead | Beta | Episode: "Today and Tomorrow" (uncredited) |
| 2020–2022 | S.W.A.T. | Terry Luca | 4 episodes |
| 2021–present | Paradise City | Oliver Ostergaard | TV spinoff of American Satan |
| 2021–2022 | The Mysterious Benedict Society | Milligan | Main role |
| TBA | The Abandons | TBA | Recurring role |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2022 | God of War Ragnarök | Thor |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2011 | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Sons of Anarchy | Won |
| 2023 | British Academy Games Awards | Performer in a Supporting Role | God of War Ragnarök | Nominated |