Ryan Merriman
Ryan Earl Merriman (born April 10, 1983) is an American actor. He began his career at the age of ten and has appeared in several feature films and television shows. He is best known for a handful of Disney Channel original movies and for portraying Jake Pierce in The Ring Two, Kevin Fischer in Final Destination 3, and Ian Thomas in Pretty Little Liars.
Ryan Merriman

AXISPACIFIC FILMWORKS · OFFICIAL TRAILER on Vimeo (for the movie Cheesecake Casserole) · CC BY 3.0
- Full name
- Ryan Earl Merriman.
- Nationality
- United States.
- Occupation
- actor.
- Fields
- film, television and acting.
- Languages
- English.
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Ryan Earl Merriman (born April 10, 1983) is an American actor. He began his career at the age of ten and has appeared in several feature films and television shows. He is best known for a handful of Disney Channel original movies and for portraying Jake Pierce in The Ring Two, Kevin Fischer in Final Destination 3, and Ian Thomas in Pretty Little Liars.
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In this article
Early life
Early life
Merriman was born in Choctaw, Oklahoma, the son of Earl and Nonalyn Merriman. He has a sister named Monica. At a young age, he began acting in commercials, print work, vocal performances, and local theater (Stage Struck Studios) in Oklahoma.
Career
Career
Merriman's first major role was on the television series The Mommies, which ran from 1993 to 1995. He stated in a 1999 interview alongside Bobbie Wygant that he auditioned for the lead role in North (1994) before Elijah Wood was cast in 1993. During the 1990s, he appeared in most episodes of The Pretender as a younger version of Jarod, the series' main character. He has starred in several television films, including Smart House, The Luck of the Irish, and as a young Meyer Lansky in Lansky. He appeared in the 1999 feature film The Deep End of the Ocean, playing the lost son of Michelle Pfeiffer's character, and subsequently starred as the main character, a Jewish boy from the Bronx, in the 2000 film Just Looking. In 2002, he played Adam Eddington in another Disney Channel original movie, A Ring of Endless Light. He then returned to television roles, appearing in Dangerous Child, Taken, and Smallville. Merriman's other roles include the horror films Halloween: Resurrection (2002), The Ring Two (2005), and Final Destination 3 (2006). He starred in Home of the Giants, a high school drama. He appeared in the CBS miniseries Comanche Moon in January 2008. He played Henry Dunn in the original pilot presentation for Harper's Island, but was replaced by Christopher Gorham when the series was picked up by CBS. From 2010 to 2014, Merriman portrayed Ian Thomas on ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars. In 2012, he starred as Dennis Mack in the 16th episode of Season 2 in Hawaii Five-0. Dwight Little wanted Merriman to play Jin Kazama in his film Tekken, but Merriman turned it down. He starred in the Hallmark Channel original movie Elevator Girl as Jonathan, a successful young lawyer who finds himself falling for a free-spirited young woman who is way below his pay grade. In 2011, he appeared as linebacker Jon Abbate in The 5th Quarter, a film about the 2006 football season of Wake Forest University. Since 2018, though he still occasionally appears in movies and TV shows, he works in Oklahoma as an entreprise account and sales manager in the dental healthcare sector.
Personal life
Personal life
Merriman was married to Micol Duncan from 2004 to 2011. On January 1, 2012, he became engaged to Kristen McMullen. They were married in September 2014. Their daughter Chloe was born in July 2018 and their son Jack was born in 2023.
Television
Television
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1993–1995 — The Mommies — Blake Kellogg — Main role, 30 episodes Nominated — Young Artist Award for Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Television Series • 1995 — The Client — Jeff Dietrich — Episode: "The Way Things Were" • 1996–2000 — The Pretender — Young Jarod / Gemini — Main role, 50 episodes Nominated — Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Drama Series – Supporting Young Actor (1997) Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Drama Series – Supporting Young Actor (1998, 1999) • 1997 — What's Right With America — Todd Gordon — Television film • 1998 — Everything That Rises — Nathan Clay — Television film Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie/Pilot/Mini-Series or Series – Leading Young Actor • 1999 — Night Ride Home — Justin — Television film • Smart House — Ben Cooper — Disney Channel Original Movie • Lansky — Meyer Lansky — Television film • 2000 — Rocket's Red Glare — Todd Baker • 2001 — The Luck of the Irish — Kyle Johnson — Disney Channel Original Movie • Touched by an Angel — Jason Harris — Episode: "Visions of thy Father" • Dangerous Child — Jack Cambridge — Television film Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie or Special – Leading Young Actor • 2002 — Taken — Sam Crawford — Episode: "Acid Tests" Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie, Mini-Series or Special – Supporting Young Actor • A Ring of Endless Light — Adam Eddington — Disney Channel Original Movie • 2003–2004 — Veritas: The Quest — Nikko Zond — Main role, 13 episodes • 2004 — Smallville — Jason Dante — Episode: "Velocity" • 2005 — The Colt — Jim Rabb — Television film (Hallmark) • 2008 — Comanche Moon — Jake Spoon — 3 episodes • Backwoods — Adam — Television film • 2010 — Elevator Girl — Johnathan • 2010–2014 — Pretty Little Liars — Ian Thomas — Recurring role, 16 episodes • 2012 — Hawaii Five-0 — Dennis Mack — Episode: "I Helu Pu" • 2013 — Independence Daysaster — Pete Garsette — Television film • 2015 — Ballers — Frat Boy — Episode: Pilot • How Not to Propose — Travis — Television film • 2019 — A Christmas Movie Christmas — Dustin
Film
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1999 — The Deep End of the Ocean — Benjamin "Ben" Cappadora / Sam Karras - Age 12 — Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actor • Just Looking — Lenny Levine — Nominated — Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor • 2002 — Halloween: Resurrection — Myles "Deckard" Barton • 2003 — Spin — Eddie Haley • 2005 — Rings — Jake Pierce — Short film • The Ring Two • 2006 — Final Destination 3 — Kevin Fischer • 2007 — Home of the Giants — Matt Morrison • 2009 — Wild Cherry — Stanford • 2011 — The 5th Quarter — Jon Abbate • 2012 — Cheesecake Casserole — Andy • Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader — Kyle • My Hometown — Rick Dickson • 2013 — Dose of Reality — Matt • 42 — Dixie Walker • 2015 — The Last Rescue — Paratrooper Griggs • 2016 — The Congressman — Jared Barnes • A Sunday Horse — Jonathan Collier • Domain — Denver • Fortune Cookie — Bryce • 2018 — The Jurassic Games — The Host • 2019 — Portal — Steven • 2020 — Robot Riot — Main Role — Amazon Prime • 2024 — Model House — The Neighbor
Literature
Scholarly footprint
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Citations
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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