Biography

Ryan Jason Cook was born in Jacksonville, North Carolina. He became the oldest son of 5 children. His father, Chris, being a pilot in the Air Force, moved his family around the country a lot during Ryan's youth, from east coast to west coast and everything in between.

Landing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Ryan attended La Cueva High School where he first began his adventure in the world of performance. Even though his original plan was to attend college as a Bio-Chemical Engineering major, all of this changed when he took part in a theatre festival at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, New Mexico. This changed the course of his life, putting him in the path of becoming a theatre performer for life! While attending ENMU, Ryan received his BFA in theatre performance and a minor in directing, dance, and technical theatre. He quickly became the leading man type during his tenure there, starring in theatre productions like Arsenic and Old Lace, The Seagull, The Front Page, One Flea Spare, and many more.

After graduating college in 2005, Ryan moved back to Albuquerque and became heavily involved in the theatre community there. Some of his favorite roles include Himself in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), Cliff Bradshaw in Cabaret, Macbeth in Macbeth, and Tom Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie. This only touches the surface of his stint within the Albuquerque Theatre scene. He performed in over 80 productions from his time in college to now: while also writing and directing a number of productions as well.

Ryan has also enjoyed directing at various theaters in Albuquerque, including Romeo and Juliet, Anatomy of a Murder, Spring Awakening, Fame, The Wizard of Oz, One Flea Spare, Cesar's Blood, and How I Learned to Drive, among many others.

In 2009, two major things happened in Ryan's life. First and foremost, he met and married his now wife, Reoyne Cook. They are still happily married to this day. In the year 2017, they made the decision to start fostering children in need. In 2018, they welcomed 4 new children into their family, turning their small family of four into a booming family of eight. Then, in 2021, they added their 7th child into the family.

The second big change in Ryan's life in 2009 was his transition into the film and television industry. It was not long before Ryan began booking on a regular basis; landing great roles on television shows like Better Call Saul, Obliterated, Big Sky, Dark Winds, Preacher, Waco, Get Shorty, Graves, Manhattan, Dig, The Night Shift, In Plain Sight, Killer Women, and The Messengers as well as films, including Only The Brave, The Space Between Us, Those Who Want Me Dead, Soldado, The Last Stand, and The Maze Runner: Scorch Trails.
- IMDb mini biography by: Ryan Jason Cook