Ryan Lane

Ryan Lane
Ryan Lane and Katie Leclerc at a Dogs for the Deaf benefit in April 2013
Born	Ryan Thomas Lane (1987-11-23) 23 November 1987 Fullerton, California, United States
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2007–present
Website
RyanLaneOnline.com

Ryan Lane (born 23 November 1987) is an American actor. Beginning his professional career as a deaf actor at the age of nineteen, Lane is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Cincinnati Reds center-fielder William Ellsworth Hoy in the Documentary Channel biography Dummy Hoy: A Deaf Hero, as well as for his recurring role as Travis on the ABC Family drama series Switched at Birth, which earned him the RJ Mitte Diversity Award at the 2013 Media Access Awards.

Early life

Lane was born Ryan Thomas Lane on 23 November 1987 in Fullerton, California to hearing parents William and Jill Lane. Lane was born deaf and, at two weeks old, was diagnosed with congenital nerve deafness. He has two older sisters, Kristyn (b. 1983) and Hayley (b. 1986) who are both hearing. His parents divorced when he was eight years old and he grew up splitting his time living with his father in Ontario, California and his mother in Diamond Bar, California. He attended school in the County School District of Los Angeles and graduated from the California School for the Deaf, Riverside (CSDR) in 2007.^[1][2][3]

Career

In 2007, Lane began his acting career when director David Risotto discovered a photograph of him in his football uniform on the wall at CSDR (some conflicting sources reporting it as a photograph in the CSDR yearbook).^[1][2] Risotto had been searching for a young man who was deaf and could play baseball to portray Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame center-fielder William Ellsworth "Dummy" Hoy in the documentary Dummy Hoy: A Deaf Hero (aka: I See the Crowd Roar) and cast Lane, who he believed had both the perfect "look" and athletic abilities to portray the role. After altering his Mohawk hairstyle and learning to bat left-handed, Lane spent the spring of 2007 filming on location in Southern California, later re-shooting some key ballpark scenes in Evansville, Indiana in the fall of 2008.^[1][4]

Lane's portrayal of Dummy Hoy led to a series of dramatic guest-starring roles on episodic television. In 2008, he guest-starred on the CBS crime drama Cold Case, portraying Andy Rierdan, a popular high school student whose murder is investigated in the episode "Andy in C Minor".^[4] In 2009, he guest-starred on the Fox medical drama House M.D., portraying Seth Miller, a high school wrestler who hears explosions in his head in the episode "House Divided".^[5] And in 2010, he guest-starred on the CBS medical drama Miami Medical, portraying Ethan, a patient injured under a collapsed balcony in the episode "All Fall Down".^[6]

In 2011, Lane transitioned to roles in short films, appearing in lead roles in the science-fiction short Irving J. Koppermelt and the dramatic family short White Space.^[7] That same year, he appeared in Jennette McCurdy's music video for the song "Generation Love".^[8] In addition to his film and television roles, Lane has been one of the repertory players at the Deaf West Theatre in North Hollywood, California, appearing in stage productions of ASImprov, Charlie's Version and The "R" Word.^[9]

In February 2012, Lane began a recurring role on the ABC Family drama Switched at Birth. On the series, Lane portrays Travis, a lonely and sometimes angry high school student who struggles to communicate with his hearing family at home and develops an unrequited romantic interest in the series lead, Daphne Vasquez (née Kennish), portrayed by Katie Leclerc.^[10][11] In September 2012, Lane described the differences between his own life and his character's, stating "Travis' parents don't [sign]. My parents do. Travis doesn't have that, so in some ways we're different [...] But I'm embracing this whole [storyline] about his home life."^[12]

In September 2012, it was reported that Lane was set to star in the feature film In Other Words, portraying an isolated young man who falls in love with a blind dancer.^[13][14][15] Additional film credits include an appearance in the 2013 feature film, No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie,^[16] as well as a role in the upcoming 2014 feature film, Veronica Mars.^[17]

Personal life

In September 2006, Lane sustained serious injuries in a dirt bike accident in Pismo Beach, California, which reportedly almost left him paralyzed. While trying to execute a jump, Lane fractured his lower spine and left femur, an injury which required a steel rod and screws to replace the broken section of his spine. His time spent recovering from his injuries, which required him to wear a body brace until January 2007, caused him to miss a significant amount of time from school, delaying his graduation from California School for the Deaf, Riverside until the fall of 2007.^[1][2][3]

Prior to establishing a career in show business, Lane had expressed an interest in studying to be an auto mechanic at the Universal Technical Institute in Rancho Cucamonga, California.^[1] In addition to his interest in motorcycles and mechanics, Lane is also proficient in the disciplines of baseball, football, snowboarding, swimming and wrestling.^[18] In his free time, he has been involved with the charity Dogs for the Deaf, which trains shelter dogs to be assistance animals to the deaf and hard of hearing.^[15]

Filmography

Accolades

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ryan Lane.

• Official website
• Ryan Lane at the Internet Movie Database
• Ryan Lane at TV.com