Ryan Kwanten

Ryan Christian Kwanten is an Australian actor and producer. He is widely recognized for his television roles, including playing Vinnie Patterson in the Australian soap opera Home and Away, Jay Robertson in the American drama series Summerland, and Jason Stackhouse in the HBO drama series True Blood. In addition to his work on screen, Kwanten has produced and starred in crime drama television and taken on diverse film projects.

Kwanten was born one of three brothers in Terrigal, New South Wales. He was raised by his mother, Kris, a Lifeline op shop coordinator, and his father, Eddie Kwanten, a worker at NSW Maritime who is of Dutch descent. His brothers are Mitchell, a musician, and Lloyd, a doctor. Kwanten attended St Paul's Catholic College in Manly and subsequently earned a degree in commerce from The University of Sydney.

Kwanten began his acting career appearing on Australian television shows such as A Country Practice, Hey Dad..!, and Spellbinder. After guest starring as Robbie Taylor on Home and Away in 1994, he joined the cast full-time in 1997 as lifeguard Vinnie Patterson. He left the series in 2002 shortly after his character married and became a father. Following his departure, Kwanten moved to the United States and was cast as Jay Robertson in Summerland, which aired from 2004 to 2005.

Expanding into feature films, Kwanten appeared in Flicka (2006) alongside Maria Bello, Alison Lohman, and Tim McGraw. He played the lead role of Jamie Ashen in the 2007 horror film Dead Silence. In December 2008, he appeared in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portraying Dominic Pruitt, a US Marine Corps Master Sergeant accused of raping and murdering a fellow Marine. He followed this with a role in the 2009 film Don't Fade Away.

From 2008 to 2014, Kwanten played Jason Stackhouse in True Blood, based on Charlaine Harris's novel series The Southern Vampire Mysteries. During this period, he starred in the 2010 psychological thriller Red Hill and voiced Kludd in the animated film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, a role he took after originally being set to voice Sorren. In 2013, he starred in the comedy-horror film Knights of Badassdom, played the Marvel character Venom in the short film Truth in Journalism, and was cast as Charles Manson in an upcoming untitled biopic directed by Brad Anderson.

Kwanten portrayed Conall in the 2014 film Northmen: A Viking Saga and voiced the titular koala in the 2015 animated project Blinky Bill the Movie. In 2019, he joined the second season of Sacred Lies: The Singing Bones as series regular Peter Wolfe. From 2018 to 2019, Kwanten both produced and starred in the crime drama series The Oath as Steve Hammond. His subsequent roles include playing Jude Mathers in the science fiction film 2067, George Bell in the 2021 horror anthology series Them, and Thomas Weylin in the 2022 series Kindred.