Ryan Merriman
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
Good-looking, dark-haired Oklahoma native Ryan Merriman began modeling at age six and landed his first broadcast acting role just a few years after, cast as a regular on the NBC sitcom "The Mommies" (1993-1995, renamed "Mommies" in its final year). Segueing from this sitcom role to a recurring turn as the young version of genius Jarod Russell on the gripping NBC series "The Pretender" (1997-2000) showed the actor's versatility. He was featured in the somewhat sentimental TV dramas "Everything That Rises" (TNT, 1998) and "Night Ride Home" (CBS, 1999) before portraying young Meyer Lansky in 1999's "Lansky," an HBO biopic of the famed gangster. That year saw Merriman take on his first feature acting role, playing a young boy who surprises parents Michelle Pfeiffer and Treat Williams nine years after he was kidnapped in the affecting drama, "The Deep End of the Ocean."
Though Merriman had proven himself a more than capable performer with an impressive big screen debut, television was where he racked up his earliest credits. The Disney Channel hosted some of his more unlikely characters, including a computer whiz kid who designs a home that will keep his widowed father from dating ("Smart House," 1999) and a teen who finds out he is part leprechaun ("Luck of the Irish," 2001). More impressive small screen work included his turn as a teen unable to control his own violent urges in Lifetime's "Dangerous Child" (2001).
Starring in Jason Alexander's 1950s coming of age comedy, "Just Looking" (1999), Merriman seemed ready to carry a film. He not only made the somewhat questionable character charming, but aced the outerborough Brooklyn accent that actors with far more experience have fumbled with. A featured role in the 2001 horror sequel "Halloween: Homecoming" would place the actor alongside some teen peers and undoubtedly reach a much wider audience than he had been exposed to before, while a co-starring role in the Disney Channel movie "A Ring of Endless Light" (aired in the 2001-02 season) would ensure that the wholesome performer didn't stray too far from the family programming that won over his initial fans.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1993
Starred on the NBC sitcom "The Mommies" (later retitled "Mommies")
1995
Guest starred on an episode of "John Grisham's The Client" (CBS)
1996
Cast in a recurring role on the NBC drama "The Pretender," playing the younger version of super-genius Jarod Russell (Michael T. Weiss)
1998
Had a supporting role in the TNT original drama "Everything That Rises"
1999
Featured as the preteen incarnation of a boy kidnapped nine years earlier in the drama "The Deep End of the Ocean"
1999
Played young Meyer Lansky in the HBO biopic "Lansky"
1999
Played a New Yorker coming of age in the 1950s in Jason Alexander's "Just Looking"
1999
Starred as a computer whiz kid who designs a "Smart House" in the 1999 Disney Channel TV-movie
1999
Featured in the "Hallmark Hall of Fame" production "Night Ride Home" (CBS)
2000
Starred in the Fox Family Channel TV-movie "Rockets Red Glare"
2001
Made guest appearance on an episode of "Touched By an Angel" (CBS)
2001
Featured in the horror sequel "Halloween: Homecoming"
2001
Played the titular violent teen in the Lifetime original movie "Dangerous Child"
2001
Starred as a boy descended from leprechauns in the Disney Channel TV-movie "Luck of the Irish"
2002
Cast in the SciFi miniseries "Taken," produced by Steven Spielberg
2002
Co-starred in "A Ring of Endless Light," a family drama that aired on the Disney Channel
2005
Starred opposite Naomi Watts in the thriller "The Ring Two"
2006
Starred in the thriller "Final Destination 3," helmed by James Wong
2008
Acted in the Western miniseries "Comanche Moon" (CBS)
2010
Co-starred with Andie MacDowell and Aidan Quinn in the biopic "The 5th Quarter"
2010
Guest starred on the ABC Family mystery drama series "Pretty Little Liars"
Family
Companions
