Ryan Kwanten

## Cast Member

"*We were lucky and blessed to have the writers that we have. They never cease to amaze me with the kind of crazy, emotional, intriguing, amusing, confusing, stuff that they come up with, particularly for my character. I just feel so lucky to have played that character for as long as I have.*"
—Ryan Kwanten to The Daily Biestsrc

**Ryan Kwanten** is an Australian actor who portrays Jason Stackhouse on HBO's *True Blood*.

## Biography

Kwanten was born in Sydney, Australia, 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, who is a musician, and Lloyd, who is a doctor. He attended St Paul's College in Manly and later earned a degree in commerce from the University of Sydney.

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. 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.

## Appearances

 **Appears**
 "Don't You Feel Me":

 **Appears**
 "Karma":
 **Appears**

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/who/celebrity-interviews/article/-/6583088/ryan-kwanten-shark-attack-survivor/
2. ↑ http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/20504
3. ↑ http://www.accesshollywood.com/ryan-kwanten-talks-secrets-of-true-blood-season-3-gearing-up-for-world-cup-action\_article\_33247
4. ↑ http://www.movieweb.com/tv/news/66/17966.php
5. ↑ http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/35989/teaser-trailer-art-and-synopsis-red-hill
6. ↑ http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/37912/first-knights-badassdom-casting-news-true-bloods-ryan-kwanten-joins-mayhem
7. ↑ http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/kwanten-to-play-charles-manson\_1177662
8. ↑ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/truth-journalism-short-teases-spider-598049
9. ↑ http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/95054/exclusive-northmen-clip-shows-why-you-dont-mess-with-vikings/