Chuck

Background:

“I'd rather have a small part on a really good show than be the lead of a pilot that's not even going to be picked up.” Ryan McPartlin

Sandy-blond haired actor Ryan McPartlin first came to fame as Hank Bennett on the popular soap opera “Passions,” a role he played from 2001 to 2004. He also portrayed Fran Drescher's love interest in “Living With Fran” (The WB, 2005-2006) and Devon 'Captain Awesome' Woodcomb on “Chuck” (NBC, 2007-2010). In addition to reoccurring roles, McPartlin has guest starred in “The Nanny,” “According to Jim,” “Still Standing,” “Pepper Dennis,” “CSI: NY” and “Mad Men,” among other television shows. The former model of Abercrombie and Fitch also appeared in the films “King of the Ants” (2003), “Super Capers” (2009) and “Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers” (2010) and the TV miniseries “Everything She Ever Wanted” (2009).

Currently residing in Los Angeles, California, McPartlin often stays in touch with his family in Chicago through email. He also visits whenever he can. He is good friends with “Passions” costar Jesse Metcalfe and is a certified personal trainer. He enjoys scuba diving, tennis, snowboarding, racquetball, golf, basketball and going to the gym. McPartlin has been married to Danielle Kirlin since 2002. He is the father of 2.

Football

Childhood and Family:

The son of Steve and Lois McPartlin, Ryan McPartlin was born on July 3, 1975, in Chicago, Illinois. He was raised in Glen Ellyn, a suburb of Chicago, with his three siblings. After graduating from Glenbard South High School, he attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received a degree in speech communication. While in college, Ryan played linebacker for the university’s football team and dreamed of making it to the NFL. However, an injury during his junior year cut short his dream of going professional. Following college graduation, he spent six months in Australia and New Zealand before relocating to southern California to pursue an acting career.

On October 26, 2002, Ryan married actress Danielle Kirlin. His wife appeared in an episode of “Felicity” (2002) and the 2004 film “Centipede.” The couple has two sons named Wyatt Duke (born in 2007) and Dylan James.

Passions

Career:

Ryan McPartlin worked various jobs before heading to Los Angeles in 1998 to try his hand at acting. Once in L.A., he studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena and under acting coach Janet Alhanti. It was not long before he landed his first acting job in “Yetta's Letters” (1999), an episode of the Fran Drescher hit sitcom “The Nanny.” It was followed by a guest stint in “Odd Man Out,” a series that appeared on the ABC from 1999 to 2000. McPartlin also appeared in many television and print campaigns and modeled in the Abercrombie & Fitch catalog. However, he left modeling to focus on acting classes and opted to work as a waiter and bartender in between gigs.

In 2000, McPartlin guest starred in an episode of “L.A.7,” a comedy series starring British pop group S Club 7. He played Ryan in an episode called “Mr. Muscle.” He went on to appear as Brad in an episode of “Three Sisters,” a comedy series starring Dyan Cannon (2001), as Bob in an episode of the Jim Belushi comedy vehicle “According to Jim” called “No Harm, No Fowl” (2003), as Jeremy in the “Still Standing” episode titled “Still Flirting” (2004), and William in “Secret Service” (2004), an episode of “North Shore.” The actor made his feature acting debut in the 2003 drama “King of the Ants,” which was co-directed, written by and starred Tedd Taskey.

McPartlin did not receive his big break until he joined the cast of the James E. Reilly daytime soap opera “Passions” as a replacement for Dalton James. In the series, he played Hank Bennett from April 2001 to April 2004. Originally, McPartlin turned down the role, but accepted it when he was approached a second time.

After leaving “Passions,” McPartlin was reunited with Fran Drescher in the situation comedy “Living With Fran,” which debuted on The WB network in April 2005. Starring Drescher as Fran Reeves, an interior designer and divorced mother of two, the final episode aired in March 2006. In the series, McPartlin portrayed Riley Douglas Martin. He also played the role in an episode of “What I Like About You” called “Girls Gone Wild” (2005).

In 2006, McPartlin appeared as Jake in the short film “Model Family” (TV), opposite Ian Abercrombie, Alla Green, Cheryl Ladd, John Schneider and Tricia Small, played Grady Harper in an episode of “Pepper Dennis” titled “Charlie Babcock's Homosexual Encounter: Film at Eleven” and costarred with Terrence Beasor, Matt Czornobil, Alexander Folk, Emily Kosloski, Thad Luckinbill and Scoot McNairy in “The Shadow Effect,” a short comedy film co-directed and co-written by Jared and Justin Varava. He also appeared in a television series pilot titled “Underfunded.”

McPartlin next played the supporting role of Terry Rockwell in “Obsession,” an episode of the CBS series “CSI: New York,” The episode aired on January 17, 2007. Three months later, he was cast in “Mother's Milk,” an episode of “Notes from the Underbelly,” an ABC sitcom starring Jennifer Westfeldt, Peter Cambor, Rachael Harris, Melanie Paxson and Sunkrish Bala. The actor, however, did not return to series television as a regular until he was cast as Dr. Devon Woodcomb on the series “Chuck,” which was created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak and starred Zachary Levi. The show premiered on NBC on September 24, 2007, and has enjoyed modest success.

While working on “Chuck,” McPartlin also guest starred in the series “Swingtown” (as Luke) and “Mad Men” (both 2008). In 2009, he portrayed Tom Allanson in the Lifetime television miniseries “Everything She Ever Wanted,” opposite Gina Gershon, Tom Barnett and Jessica Greco, and Will Powers in the film “Super Capers,” a spoof movie written and directed by Ray Griggs. Costars of “Super Capers” included Justin Whalin, Pat Crawford Brown, Ray Griggs, Danielle Harris, Clint Howard, Christine Lakin, Tommy “Tiny” Lister, June Lockhart, Jon Polito, Michael Rooker, Adam West and Tom Sizemore. Recently, McPartlin starred as Clutch Powers in the straight to video computer animated film “Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers,” which was helmed by Howard E. Baker and written by Tom Rogers.

“I want to stay in this business. I want to take film classes and perhaps write. Who knows, maybe someday I'll be like Ron Howard.” Ryan McPartlin

Awards:
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