ED- We are very excited to introduce actor Marty Ryan to our readers. Marty, you have a long and prominent career in acting You’ve been in such Television shows such as Monk, Boston Legal, and ER. Please tell us how your career started.
MR– I had a career going in the International Freight Forwarding industry working for a Swiss multinational in New York. I was geared up for a career in international business having obtained an MBA with an emphasis international marketing from the Thunderbird School of International Management and speaking Italian and Spanish. After working and succeeding at the job for several years my creative side started to do battle in my brain with my practical side. I had also gotten an English degree from Santa Clara University and still fancied myself a man of arts and letters. By some alchemy I decided to quit my job and become an actor. I had had no previous training, inclination, nor interest in acting but somehow the Muses set me on this path. I moved back to my hometown of Portland Oregon and began taking acting classes and joined a theater company. I guess I was thick headed enough to think I could succeed as an actor and moved to Los Angeles in late 1996 without any real credits or experience apart from the excellent theater training I had received in Portland.
ED-Lately you were also in Mad Men, General Hospital, and Southland. Tell us about your roles in these well known television shows.
MR– General Hospital has me back every so often as the Mob Doctor when someone is in trouble and needs sewing up on the QT. Mad Men is of course a very popular and successful show. I had a small guest starring role as an executive. I was really impressed by the professionalism and great attention to detail in creating the world they have on Mad Men. Southland is getting a nice second look on TNT after being cancelled by NBC. We are hoping for continued success and more episodes as I have a recurring role as the Watch Commander. I think Southland will really find an audience now that it has a home.
ED- Please tell us about some of your other past performances.
MR– I have been able to build my resume playing a wide range of cops, detectives, doctors, lawyers, and occasionally wacky characters. It’s always fun to get out there and play no matter the role.
ED- Are you working on any upcoming projects?
MR- I am actually very excited about working with an Italian theater company, Racconti di Scena, in Brescia Italy this summer. They are holding a Shakespeare festival called “Shakespeare in Citta’ ” in a 2000 year old Roman forum. I will be performing in the festival and also teaching a class. I hope to form some longer term collaborations in Italy and elsewhere around the world and recapture a bit of the international life I left behind when switched to an acting career.
ED- Of all the roles that you have played, what was your favorite?
MR– So far in my career I would say that my theater roles have proven to be my favorites since you are able to inhabit the character much more for a longer period of time than you do with a typical guest starring role or supporting role in television or film. I have a very active life in the theater and recently worked in William Mastrosimone’s “Cat’s Paw” which was produced by The Actors Studio where I am a member. I played the role of David Darling, a hostage kidnapped by a terrorist group, and it was particularly gratifying to work on this role with my colleagues and friends from the Studio.
ED- With the Film and Television Industries constantly revolving, where do you see yourself in the next five years?
MR- Who knows really? We all have the highest aspirations and dreams here in Hollywood and I will be looking to fulfill those as much as possible. I am doing more writing as a way of developing my own projects as well.
ED- Marty, it has been an honor and a pleasure to have this interview with you. I know that our readers will be thrilled that you have shared your career with us at The Eerie Digest magazine. We hope that you will be back with us again and let us know about any new endeavors.
Please share the story on Facebook, or donate to support our efforts!
.jpg)
