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Jake Ryan (American actor)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jake Ryan
Ryan in 2023
Born (2003-08-26) August 26, 2003 (age 21)
OccupationActor
Years active2009–present

Jake Ryan (born August 26, 2003)[a] is an American actor. He has appeared in the Wes Anderson films Moonrise Kingdom (2012) and Asteroid City (2023) as well as Bo Burnham's film Eighth Grade (2018) and Nasim Pedrad's sitcom Chad (2021–2024).

Career

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Ryan took up acting at age five as a hobby, which turned into a job.[3][4] He made his film debut in the horror film The Innkeepers (2011).[3] He began a long-running collaboration with the auteur filmmaker Wes Anderson at age seven when he was cast as a young camper in Moonrise Kingdom (2012), partly because he could play piano.[3][5] He felt "cozy" on set with Anderson and kept in touch with him by email.[4][5] In March 2012, an eight-year-old Ryan narrated, and got a writing credit on, a one-minute stop motion advertisement for Sony Mobile that was directed by Anderson.[2][6] He also appeared in a promotional short for Moonrise Kingdom (opposite Jason Schwartzman) and in commentary for the Criterion Collection releases of Fantastic Mr. Fox and Moonrise Kingdom.[2][5]

In the following years, Ryan had small parts in the Coen brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), Anderson's Isle of Dogs (2018), and the Safdie brothers' Uncut Gems (2019).[3][5] In Bo Burnham's Eighth Grade (2018), he played a "scene-stealing" boy who takes the main character, Kayla, on a date over chicken nuggets and imitates Rick and Morty; the young actor found watching himself in the film cringeworthy.[2][4][7] He began co-starring with Nasim Pedrad in the TBS sitcom Chad in April 2021.[8][9]

In 2023, Ryan reunited with Anderson and Schwartzman in Asteroid City, playing the dual roles of awkward teenage brainiac Woodrow Steenbeck and an actor understudying for the part of Woodrow in a play.[4][5]

Personal life

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Ryan was homeschooled on Long Island, New York, from second grade.[2][7] He took improvisational comedy classes with the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York from age 15.[3]

Filmography

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Film

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Year(s) Title Role Notes
2011 The Innkeepers Young Boy
The Stand Up Trevor
2012 Moonrise Kingdom Lionel
Cousin Ben Troop Screening with Jason Schwartzman Khaki Scout Short film
2013 Inside Llewyn Davis Danny
2015 No Letting Go David
2018 Eighth Grade Gabe
Isle of Dogs Junior Interpreter Ernie Voice role
Age of Summer Woods
2019 Uncut Gems Dwarf 2
2020 Youngest Trevor
2023 Asteroid City Woodrow Steenbeck

Television

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Year(s) Title Role Notes
2010 Sesame Street Jake Episode: "Saved by Superfoods"
2015 Ground Floor Caleb Episode: "The Proposal – Part One"
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Boy Episode: "Kimmy Gets a Job!"
The Comedians Adam Episode: "Red, White & Working Blue"
Friends of the People Ethan Episode: "Kings of Gold"
2018 Splitting Up Together Nathaniel 2 episodes
2019 The Cool Kids Ernie Episode: "Mentors"
2021 Chad Peter 7 episodes

Notes

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  1. ^ Ryan's birthday of August 26 in his Twitter bio,[1] and his age of 19 in June 2023,[2] place his year of birth in 2003.

References

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  1. ^ "Jake Ryan (@JakeRyan)". Twitter. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e Murray, Iana (June 23, 2023). "Asteroid City star Jake Ryan is Wes Anderson's unassuming muse". i-D. Vice Media. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e Schulman, Michael (June 12, 2023). "The Coens, the Safdies, Bo Burnham, and Wes Anderson Share a Muse". The New Yorker. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d Babiak, Lauren (July 3, 2023). "Who to Watch: Jake Ryan, Star of Wes Anderson's 'Asteroid City'". Observer. Archived from the original on July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e Zuckerman, Esther (June 17, 2023). "'Asteroid City' Was Part of a Decade-Long Journey for Jake Ryan". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  6. ^ Savov, Vlad (March 22, 2012). "Sony's Wes Anderson-directed ad is 'made of imagination' and stop motion animation". The Verge. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Young, Susan (January 4, 2019). "Scene Stealer Jake Ryan Just Tried to Be Himself in 'Eighth Grade'". Variety. Archived from the original on January 5, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  8. ^ Petski, Denise (February 19, 2019). "'Eighth Grade's Jake Ryan Cast In Nasim Pedrad's TBS Comedy Pilot 'Chad'". Deadline. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  9. ^ Allen, Nick (April 6, 2021). "Nasim Pedrad Boldly Parodies Adolescence in TBS' Chad". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
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