Ryan Howard (The Office)
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| Ryan Howard | |
|---|---|
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| First appearance | Pilot |
| Statistics | |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 20s |
| Title | Sales Representative |
| Portrayed by | B.J. Novak |
| Created by | Greg Daniels |
Ryan Howard, played by B.J. Novak, is a fictional character on the US television sitcom The Office. He was originally a temporary employee at the Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania, but was eventually hired on as a junior sales representative. He is based upon Ricky Howard from the original version of The Office, but his role is significantly expanded.
Ryan is one of the more competent employees, usually a step ahead of his on-staff coworkers. He was a member of a fraternity in college and is continuing his education by attending business school at night, much to the chagrin of his boss, Michael Scott. His dream is to ultimately own a business one day, which he confesses to Michael who derides it as "a terrible idea". Ryan does not wish to stay at Dunder-Mifflin long or even be remembered when he leaves, citing that his ultimate fear is that he will gain a nickname around the office (being "that guy"). This fear came to pass in an episode penned by Novak when Howard activated a smoke alarm by accidentally overcooking some food in the break room, earning him the nickname "Fire Guy." In another episode, Ryan talks about how he could clean out his desk in 5 seconds and then forget that he ever worked for Dunder-Mifflin.
Ryan has an on-again, off-again relationship with office chatterbox Kelly Kapoor. This began when she expressed interest in him, and he responded favorably to her "junk". He made out with her on the eve of Valentine's Day, resulting in awkwardness between the two next day. He is often uneasy about Kelly mentioning her wishes to marry Ryan and raise children as soon as possible, and Ryan often responds quite harshly to show his disinterest. However, things seem to be starting up between the two again during the office "Casino Night". Ryan later met Kelly's parents during Diwali, but they were not impressed by his low income and desire to travel, rather than start a family. Michael also seems to have a bit of a man crush on Ryan, which also frightens him at times. Ryan is also inconveniently stuck in the position of being personal assistant to Michael, who immediately summons him to all menial tasks, such as picking up a video for Michael at his mother's house, cleaning out his car with him, and trying to get Ryan to assist him in the bathroom when Michael slips up from his injury. In a complaint filed on him in "Conflict Resolution", Kelly complains to Toby that Ryan doesn't return her calls. Michael reads the complaint aloud to the office, and joins Kelly in the same complaint, as Ryan does not return his calls either. Ryan replies that his voicemail is rather spotty. Lately though, Ryan has begun correcting Michael for embarrassing him as evident by "The Convict", when one of Michael's latest seminars involving prison life has Michael referring to Ryan as "da belle of da ball" if he were in prison. Along with Stanley Hudson and Phyllis Lapin, Ryan consoles the new employees from the Stamford branch on how Michael operates as manager of their branch.
Ryan also knows for sure that there is a definite "more than just friends" relationship between Dwight Schrute and Angela Martin. He discovered the relationship when the two were arguing about what to do about Michael's birthday in the break room.
In "Gay Witch Hunt", Ryan gets Jim Halpert's old job after he accepts a job offer at Dunder-Mifflin's Stamford branch, but is still in the position of being Michael's work slave such as taking inventory of Michael's possessions for his trip to the convention in Philadelphia or organizing paperwork in his office.
Ryan goes to his first sales call in "Initiation", where he is subjected to a series of tests by Dwight, including being stranded on Dwight's beet farm and being tied to a chair while answering questions regarding the company. Dwight later admits to an angry Ryan that he wants to get along with him and be a team, since he and Jim were always at odds. He also points out Ryan's problem, which is that he will not accept that other people can teach him things. Ryan takes this into consideration. Ryan may not be a good salesman—his first client tells him flat out that they do not like him, and he loses the sale. In retaliation, Ryan proceeds to throw eggs at the client's building and the CEO's parking sign with Dwight joining him.
[edit] Trivia
- Ryan's car is a blue Honda Civic sedan.
- He won the "Hottest In The Office" award at the 8th Annual Dundie Awards.
- Ryan shares a name with Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, the 2005 National League Rookie of the Year, and 2006 National League MVP. Coincidentally, the Phillies AAA affiliate was the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons in Scranton, PA, where the Phillies' Howard spent time playing in 2004 and 2005 and where The Office is set.
[edit] External links
- Ryan Howard Quotes - at Dunderball.com
| Characters of The Office – U.S. version |
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Main Characters |
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Michael Scott | Jim Halpert | Pam Beesly | Dwight Schrute | Ryan Howard |
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Minor Characters |
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Accounting |
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Miscellaneous Characters |
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Katy | Devon | Carole Stills | Bob Vance | Josh Porter | Billy Merchant | Tony Gardner | Stacy | Brenda | Hank | Ed Truck | Mose Schrute | Stacy |
