Biography

Ryan Hurst

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Overview

Born
June 19, 1976 · Santa Monica, California, USA
Birth name
Ryan Douglas Hurst
Height
6′ 5½″ (1.97 m)

Biography

Ryan Douglas Hurst (born June 19, 1976) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Gerry Bertier in Disney's Remember the Titans, Tom Clark in Taken, Opie Winston in the FX network drama series Sons of Anarchy, as Sergeant Ernie Savage in We Were Soldiers, and as Chick in Bates Motel.

Hurst was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Candace Kaniecki, an acting coach, and Rick Hurst, an actor. He attended Santa Monica High School.

Growing up in a Hollywood family, Hurst made a very early start in show business, with a recurring role in the NBC teen situation comedy series Saved by the Bell: The New Class. In the 1998 epic war drama film Saving Private Ryan, Hurst portrayed Mandelsohn, a paratrooper who, because of temporary hearing loss, cannot understand Captain Miller's (Tom Hanks) questions about sighting Private Ryan, which forces Miller to ask the questions in writing. Additionally, he appeared in the 2002 war film We Were Soldiers as Sgt. Ernie Savage, played the football player Lump Hudson in the black comedy thriller film The Ladykillers (2004), and starred in the TNT police drama series Wanted (2005). From 2005 to 2007, Hurst gained recognition for portraying the recurring role of Allison DuBois' half-brother, Michael Benoit, in NBC's supernatural procedural drama series Medium.

Hurst's big break came when he was cast as Opie Winston in the FX crime drama series Sons of Anarchy. Originally a recurring cast member in the first season, he was promoted to main cast member for the following season and went on to become a fan favorite. His character, newly released from a five-year prison stint and "living right", but not making ends meet, goes back to Samcro to provide for his family, despite his wife's objections and his knowing the risks. Hurst's portrayal of Opie earned him the 2011 Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film. Also in 2011, Hurst voiced Jedidiah in the animated box office hit Rango. Also stars in the series, Outsiders. It was announced in August 2018 that he will star as Beta on The Walking Dead.

In 1994, Hurst met Molly Cookson and the couple married in May 2005. Together, they founded the production company Fast Shoes. In April 2013, Hurst purchased a 3,400 square-foot home in Woodland Hills, California for $1.71 million.
- IMDb mini biography by: ahmetkozan

Family

Spouse
Parents
Relatives

Self-verified on IMDbPro

Gender / Gender identity
Male

Trademarks

Frequently plays brutish, oversized football players or soldiers

Trivia

In Sons Of Anarchy was originally planned to have a recurring part in Season 1, but he was immediately promoted to a main cast member in Season 2, when he became a fan favorite.
Originally his character on Sons Of Anarchy, Harold "Opie" Winston and William Lucking's character, Piermont "Piney" Winston, weren't related. However, when filming the pilot episode of the show, seeing the two of them in their biker outfits and their towering heights of 6' 5" and 6' 6" respectively, they looked so much like father and son that creator Kurt Sutter re-wrote their characters to be father and son on the show.
Son of Rick Hurst (of "Dukes of Hazzard" fame).
In Bethesda's Fallout 4, location BADTFL Regional Office, there is a record for a criminal named Opie Hurst. Description: 6' 5 1/2", brown hair, brown eyes, beard, arm tattoos and back tattoo. Charged with possession of an unlicensed laser. Personal effects: 1 leather vest, 1 wool knit cap and motorcycle keys. Ryan's character in SONS of Anarchy was named Opie.
Started his own film production company called Fast Shoes.

Quotes

I am real, real picky with what I decided to do. I want to make sure it's new and at the same time that it's in the same color of what I have played before. Not to pigeon hole myself but I don't like to do fluff.
One of the important things is that a lot of people forget that a biker club is a secret society.
I think it's particularly a distinctively American concept that resonates with American culture through biker culture. A motorcycle is an independent thing. You're like, 'I don't want to ride in a car with this person. I want to be independent and ride by myself. But, let's ride in a group. Let's be independent, together.'
Bikers, in general, have just been so attractive to people. Photographers would follow them because there's this weird warrior gravitas that comes with it. The bikes are loud, they have tattoos, they have artwork that they all wear on their jackets.
A motorcycle is an independent thing.