Ryan was born during a mid-Spring flash blizzard in New York City. His mother, casting director, Mary Jo Slater got him his start in commercials, movies and TV. In the late eighties, his brother Christian's fame was on the rise, so the family moved to Los Angeles. Ryan starred in many movies during the 1990s and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.

Ryan quit acting at 19 to focus on his studies. He graduated university in San Francisco since 2008 with a degree in Japanese since and has spent a lot of time in Japan, Guam and various other worldly locations. In Japan, he was able to book TV commercials back to back, even singing in Japanese.

Since returning to the States, Ryan has worked as a film distributor to a Japanese production company as well as a casting assistant and associate to his mother but has begun his official return to the theatrical arts.