Ryan Wayne Donowho (born September 20, 1980) is an American actor and musician.

Early life

Born and raised in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Donowho appeared as an uncredited extra in "

Varsity Blues (film) ''Varsity Blues'' is a 1999 American coming-of-age sports comedy-drama film directed by Brian Robbins that follows a small-town high school football team through a tumultuous season, in which the players must deal with the pressures of adolescenc ...

", a film shot in his home state of Texas. Donowho moved to

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and then to Los Angeles. He was a street musician in New York City as a "bucket" drummer. Donowho was bucket drumming in New York City when he was discovered by a modeling agent. He has an older brother, Matthew and a younger brother, Joseph.

Career

His official movie debut was in 2001's ''The Car Thief and the Hit Man''. Donowho co-starred alongside Emile Hirsch in ''

The Mudge Boy ''The Mudge Boy'' is a 2003 American drama film directed by Michael Burke, based on Burke's 1998 short film ''Fishbelly White'' which was featured in the compilation ''Boys Life 5''. It stars Emile Hirsch, Tom Guiry, and Richard Jenkins. It was pr ...

''. In 2003 he was featured as the drummer for a song in The Hermitt's "& The Story of The Insects". Donowho is known for his work in 2004's ''

Imaginary Heroes ''Imaginary Heroes'' is a 2004 American drama film written and directed by Dan Harris. It focuses on the traumatic effect the suicide of the elder son has on a suburban family. Plot Matt Travis is good-looking, popular, and his school's best com ...

'' with

Emile Hirsch Emile Davenport Hirsch (born March 13, 1985) is an American actor. He played Chris McCandless in '' Into the Wild'' (2007). Other notable film roles include '' The Girl Next Door'' (2004), ''Lords of Dogtown'' (2005), '' Alpha Dog'' (2006), ''Sp ...

. In the film, Donowho plays a sexually ambiguous character. Donowho's roles in ''Imaginary Heroes'' and later in '' A Home at the End of the World'' created for Donowho a positive relationship with the gay community. He appeared with brother Matthew at the 2004

Outfest Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...

, a gay and lesbian film festival held annually in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

along with the cast and crew of '' A Home at the End of the World''. He appeared in ''

Bringing Rain ''Bringing Rain'' is a 2003 independent film written and directed by Noah Buschel. It premiered at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival and was released on DVD on September 20, 2005. It won first prize at the Rhode Island International Film Festival f ...

'' with

Rodrigo Lopresti Rodrigo Lopresti (born September 6, 1976) is an American-Argentine actor, musician and film director who lives in Brooklyn, New York. Biography Personal life Rodrigo Lopresti was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the youngest of two children. Lo ...

and

Alexis Dziena Alexis Gabrielle Dziena (born July 8, 1984) is an American actress. Early life Dziena was born in New York City and is of Irish, Italian and Polish descent. She attended the private Saint Ann's School alongside her ''Bringing Rain'' (2003) co ...

. For the third season of ''

The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seaso ...

'', the producers cast Donowho as

Johnny Harper '' The O.C.'' is an American Television series created by Josh Schwartz for the FOX Network in 2003. Schwartz serves as executive producer while also writing and directing for the show, including the premieres and finales of all seasons. The ...

. Donowho played Stanley in the 2006 film adaptation of ''

Strangers With Candy ''Strangers with Candy'' is an American comedy television series produced by Comedy Central. It first aired on April 7, 1999, and concluded its third and final season on October 2, 2000. Its timeslot was Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ( ET). A pre ...

'' but does not appear in the released version of the film. Donowho appeared in the thriller film Altitude. He played the lead character of Nathan in ''Rites of Passage''.

Filmography

Awards

Donowho is the recipient of several awards; he was awarded twice for his role in the 2006 film ''The Favor'' at the

San Diego Film Festival The San Diego International Film Festival (SDIFF) is an independent film festival in San Diego, California produced by the non-profit San Diego Film Foundation. The main event has traditionally been held annually in the autumn at venues in the ...

, receiving the Festival Award, and the Achievement in Acting Award, both for Best Actor. For his portrayal in the 2016 film ''Salvation'', he was received the award for Best Actor at the Los Angeles Cinema Festival of Hollywood.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donowho, Ryan 1980 births American drummers American male film actors American male television actors Living people Male actors from Houston Musicians from Houston Male actors from Los Angeles Musicians from Los Angeles 21st-century American drummers