Ryan Hansen is an American actor, entrepreneur and comedian. He is best known for starring as Dick Casablancas on the noir drama series ''

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen film noir, noir Mystery fiction, mystery Drama (film and television), drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, Ca ...

'' (2004–2019), as Kyle Bradway on the Starz comedy series ''

Party Down ''Party Down'' is an American sitcom created and primarily written by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge and Paul Rudd that aired on the Starz network in the United States in 2009 and 2010. The series follows a group of caterers in Los Ange ...

'' (2009–2010), and as Nolan in the horror remake film ''

Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year. ...

'' (2009). Hansen also had a recurring role on the comedy series ''

2 Broke Girls ''2 Broke Girls'' (stylized ''2 Broke Girl$'') is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 19, 2011, to April 17, 2017. The series was produced for Warner Bros. Television and created by Michael Patrick King and Whitney Cu ...

'' (2012–2017) and the web series ''

Burning Love "Burning Love" is a 1972 song by Elvis Presley written by Dennis Linde, originally released by Arthur Alexander earlier in 1972. Elvis Presley had a major hit with the song, becoming his biggest hit single in the United States since "Suspicious M ...

'' (2012–2013).

Early life

Hansen was born in

Fountain Valley, California Fountain Valley is a suburban city in Orange County, California. The population was 57,047 at the 2020 census. History The area encompassing Fountain Valley was originally inhabited by the Tongva people. European settlement of the area b ...

and raised in

El Cajon, California El Cajon ( , ; Spanish: El Cajón, meaning "the box") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajón, which was in turn named for the box-like shape of the va ...

Career

Hansen began acting with guest-starring roles on series such as ''

Grounded for Life ''Grounded for Life'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on January 10, 2001, as a mid-season replacement on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. Created by Mike Schiff and Bill Martin, it ran for two seasons on the network until being cance ...

'', ''

That's So Raven ''That's So Raven'' is an American television teen sitcom that was created by Michael Poryes and Susan Sherman, and aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between January 2003 and November 2007. The series centers on Raven Baxter (Raven-Sy ...

'', and ''

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

''. In 2004, Hansen auditioned for the role of

Duncan Kane ''Veronica Mars'' is an American television series created by Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during UPN's last two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Televisi ...

on ''Veronica Mars'' but lost out to

Teddy Dunn Edward Wilkes Dunn (born June 19, 1980) is an American lawyer and former actor known for his portrayal of Duncan Kane in the Rob Thomas television series ''Veronica Mars''. Early life and education Dunn grew up in Durham, North Carolina. He atte ...

. However, Rob Thomas told him to try out for the role of Dick Casablancas. In 2008, Hansen appeared in ''

Superhero Movie ''Superhero Movie'' is a 2008 American superhero parody film written and directed by Craig Mazin, produced by Robert K. Weiss and David Zucker, and starring Drake Bell, Sara Paxton, Christopher McDonald, and Leslie Nielsen. It was originally ti ...

'', released on March 28. In 2008, Hansen appeared in the CCT original musical ''Alice'' as Trevor McKnight/White Night. The show opened on July 31 and ran through August 10, in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. In 2011, Hansen portrayed Ben Lewis on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...

sitcom '' Friends with Benefits''.

BuddyTV BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profi ...

ranked him #79 on its list of "TV's Sexiest Men of 2011". In 2012, he began a recurring role as Andy, the candy shop owner, on the CBS sitcom ''

''. The same year he had a supporting role in the film ''Hit and Run'' alongside

Dax Shepard Dax Randall Shepard (born January 2, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker and podcast host. Since 2018, he has hosted '' Armchair Expert'', a podcast that interviews celebrities, journalists, and academics about their lives. Shepard h ...

Kristen Bell Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress. Beginning her acting career by starring in stage productions while attending the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, she made her Broadway stage debut as Becky Thatche ...

and

Bradley Cooper Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Grammy Awards, in addition to nominations for nine Academy Awards, si ...

. On October 25, 2017, the new YouTube Premium series ''

Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television ''Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television'' is an action comedy series created by Rawson Marshall Thurber and starring Ryan Hansen that premiered on October 25, 2017, on YouTube Red (now YouTube Premium). In July 2018, it was announced that the s ...

'' premiered, in which Hansen plays a fictionalized version of himself, as the show's

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

. In 2020, he starred opposite Jimmy O. Yang in two films, '' Like a Boss'' and ''

Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. G ...

'', released a month apart. In the former film, their characters were business partners, and in the latter, they were step-siblings who were strongly fond of each other.

Charity work

Hansen actively supported the

Invisible Children ''Invisible Children'' is a 2006 American documentary film that depicts the human rights abuses by the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. Synopsis In the spring of 2003, Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey, and Laren Poole traveled to Africa to documen ...

campaign that was founded by his brother-in-law, Jason Russell. In 2010, he appeared in the online series ''The LXD: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers'', with 50% of the profits going to the Invisible Children campaign.

Personal life

Hansen married Amy Russell in 2004. The couple were

's housemates for two years. Hansen and Russell have three daughters: Crosby Jane, Millie Magnolia and Everett Eloise. Ryan became the co-owner of the coffee startup Honey & Roses Coffee Co. in 2021.

Filmography

Stage

* ''Alice'' (2008) – Trevor McKnight/White Night

References

External links

* *
Ryan Hansen interview with Mars Investigations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Ryan 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Living people Male actors from Orange County, California Male actors from San Diego People from Fountain Valley, California Comedians from California Year of birth missing (living people)