| Ryan Wiik | |
|---|---|
Ryan Wiik in 2007 |
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| Born | Gunnar Wiik September 23, 1981 Hamar, Norway |
| Occupation | actor, screenwriter, producer |
| Years active | 2003 - present |
Gunnar Ryan Wiik ( /ˈvɪk/; born September 23, 1981), better known as Ryan Wiik, is an Norwegian actor and founder of the production company, WR Films. In 2007, Wiik made his Hollywood debut with A-Mark Entertainment’s thriller, Timber Falls[1], directed by Tony Giglio. In 2011, the entertainment trade paper Daily Variety reported that Wiik’s WR Films had acquired the motion picture rights to all 83 books in the best-selling Morgan Kane series by author Louis Masterson.[2]
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While living in Spain, Wiik became friends with Norwegian Producer Knut Steen Rakner and British Producer Darryn Welch, who encouraged him to get in front of the camera for acting roles and television commercials. From the first take, it was evident that Ryan was a natural, and comfortable in front of the camera. In 2003, Wiik had a supporting role in the British/Spanish feature film Oh Marbella![1], although his scenes were deleted from the theatrical version.
In late summer of 2005, Wiik was among the final contestants for Norway’s talent search Filmstjerne[1] (meaning: Movie Star, in Norwegian), where he was eliminated by judges in the last round before the audience voting started.
In the months following Filmstjerne, Wiik produced and helmed the project “A taste of Hollywood” in Norway, an intensive school program to teach and inspire 90 young filmmakers on the reality of moviemaking. On December 17, 2005, Wiik hosted a film festival and red-carpet award show in his home town Drøbak, Norway.[3][4]
Wiik partnered with Rakner's production company MCM Europe, to produce and star in a slate of short films directed by Christoffer Lunde: Did You Get the Diamond?, Budbilsjåføren, Life in a Flash and The Blacklist. It was his work in these films that would later give Wiik an opportunity to move to Los Angeles.
Upon his arrival in Los Angeles, Wiik was cast in a co-starring role in Timber Falls, directed by Tony Giglio. Wiik later received an “Artist of Extraordinary Ability Visa” O-1 visa in the United States.[3][5]
Because of his experience in producing films in Europe, Wiik was able to form his own Los Angeles-based production company,WR Films Entertainment Group. Wiik's partners in the company include industry veterans James Cardwell, former President of Warner Home Video, Alan E. Bell, former Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Paramount Pictures, Duane M. Eberlein, former Chief Financial Officer of Caesars World, and John Michaels, former President of Production for Magnet Media Group and VIP Media Funds USA.
On May 9, 2011, the trade magazine Daily Variety broke a story that WR Films had acquired the motion picture rights to all 83 novels in the best-selling Morgan Kane series, which has sold more than 20 million books to date.[2]
Writing under the pen name of Louis Masterson, late Norwegian author Kjell Hallbing began reinventing the Western genre for European readers when he wrote "Without Mercy," the first entry in the Morgan Kane series, in 1966. He wrote another 82 books by 1985, with Kane surviving General Custer's last stand at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, fighting alongside Pancho Villa in the Mexican Revolution and encountering Billy the Kid, the Dalton Brothers, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Teddy Roosevelt and many other figures of the era.
In an interview with Daily Variety, Wiik explained the power that the Kane series has had since it was published.
"The Morgan Kane stories stand out because they had such great characters and kinetic action scenes that were something out of a James Bond film," said Wiik. "Kane was the ultimate anti-hero who played by his own rules; he was a gunslinger who used martial arts to kill when he ran out of bullets, and was a borderline sociopath. His creator Masterson was a rogue author who reimagined the Western novel the way Stieg Larsson transformed the mystery genre."
Daily Variety noted that Wiik and his production company, which is funded by a consortium of Norwegian investors, planned to commence shooting in late 2011 in either New Mexico or Texas.
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Oh Marbella![1] | Eddie | Feature film (scene cut from final version) |
| 2004 | The Blacklist | John Jessup | Short Film |
| Life in a Flash | Sean | Short Film | |
| 2005 | Filmstjerne[1] | as himself | Talent search - Reality show |
| Budbilsjåføren | Delivery man | Short film (Eng. title: The Courier) | |
| 2006 | Did you get the Diamond? | John | Short film |
| 2007 | Timber Falls[1] | James Block | Feature film |
| 2013 | Frank[1] | Ethan Boyd | Development |
| Living the Lie[1] | Marty Johansen | Development |