Bio: Ryan Gesell

Mr. Gesell is one of five actors who can actually claim Los Angeles as his birthplace. Really. They have a support group…LA Anonymous. However, despite growing up in the LA area, Ryan spent his youth playing soccer rather than auditioning for Coppertone commercials. Eventually the bug hit him and Ryan attempted the impossible: becoming a high school jock while performing in school plays and choir ensemble. A word to the wise…a letterman’s jacket loses its virility as soon as you stitch the Dramedy mask on it. Even though acting eventually won out in the end, Ryan still plays competitive soccer in a local league.

Ryan graduated with a BA from the School of Theater, Film, and Television at UCLA. While attending college he served as the head of the Theater Underground and produced UCLA’s annual TheaterFest -- a marathon weekend of original work written, directed, produced, and performed by the students. Ryan spent two years as a member of the Tangent Comedy Improv Group performing improvisation and sketch comedy throughout Los Angeles and Ventura County. In addition, Ryan is a National Speech and Debate Champion winning five gold medals at the National Collegiate Tournament.

After UCLA, Ryan studied acting in Oxford, England at the British Academy of Dramatic Arts before returning to Los Angeles to launch himself into showbiz domestically. After experimenting in small classes here and there, Ryan found the Beverly Hills Playhouse. He has been studying there ever since under the tutelage of Milton Katselas and Richard Lawson.

As a screenwriter, Ryan recently completed his first screenplay Zoli. Penned with his writing partner and brother, Sean, Zoli is a story about the Hungarian Freedom Fighters of the 1956 Revolution. Additionally, Ryan will helm his first short film in the summer of 2005, directing a short co-wrote entitled, Office Wars.

Ryan’s most recent stage credits include: 12th Premise starring Jake Sandvig and directed by Kristin Hanggi; as well as The Pussy Cat Dolls directed by Hanggi and starring Carmen Electra, Christina Applegate, Charlize Theron, and a host of others. Earlier this year he bowed as The Cat In The Hat in a regional production of Suessical: The Musical.