Actor / Director Profile

Audiences across the globe know Ryan Kwanten as Jason Stackhouse, the highly-sexed town heartthrob on "True Blood" (2008). Though he plays the quintessential Southern bad boy, Ryan is native of Australia and was born and bred in Sydney. He is the eldest of three brothers and though both of his younger siblings were performers at early ages, Ryan was the athlete of the family. His interests included triathlon, swimming, tennis, golf, surfing and snow skiing and as a teen, he was the state welterweight boxing champ. His introduction to acting came purely by chance. At the age of fifteen, his mother dropped off one of his younger brothers at an audition for a theatrical agency and was then supposed to drive Ryan to swimming training. He waited in the car for his mother to return and when she didn't, he went inside and was dragged into auditioning. The agency signed him and the teen began learning his craft on Australian television. He gradually moved to larger roles including a five-year stint on the popular down-under series, "Home and Away" (1988).When his role on "Home and Away" (1988) ended, Ryan left Australia and moved to Los Angeles. He perfected an American accent and made a number of guest appearances on American television. He co-starred with Lori Loughlin and Jesse McCartney in "Summerland" (2004) then starred in the films Flicka (2006) and Dead Silence (2007). A year later, Ryan had the remarkable fortune to land a leading role on "True Blood" (2008), a Southern Gothic series produced by Alan Ball. "True Blood" (2008) tapped into the global obsession with vampires and, by the end of the first season, had become a cult hit. Ryan has recently completed three films and will start the third season of "True Blood" (2008) in 2010.