Ryan Merriman

About

Ryan Earl Merriman (born April 10, 1983) is an American actor. He began his career at the age of ten and has appeared in several feature films and television shows. He is best known for a handful of Disney Channel original movies and for portraying Jake Pierce in The Ring Two, Kevin Fischer in Final Destination 3, and Ian Thomas in Pretty Little Liars.

Merriman was born in Choctaw, Oklahoma, the son of Earl and Nonalyn Merriman. He has a sister named Monica. At a young age, he began acting in commercials, print work, vocal performances, and local theater (Stage Struck Studios) in Oklahoma.

Merriman’s first major role was on the television series The Mommies, which ran from 1993 to 1995. He stated in a 1999 interview alongside Bobbie Wygant that he auditioned for the lead role in North (1994) before Elijah Wood was cast in 1993. During the 1990s, he appeared in most episodes of The Pretender as a younger version of Jarod, the series’ main character. He has starred in several television films, including Smart House, The Luck of the Irish, and as a young Meyer Lansky in Lansky. He appeared in the 1999 feature film The Deep End of the Ocean, playing the lost…