Actor Ryan McPartlin was born on July 3, 1975 in Chicago, Illinois. He was a student of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was recognized as a player for the Fighting Illini football team. He later graduated with a degree in speech communication, and went to Australia and New Zealand to explore the outdoors and decide on what career he wants to pursue. He realized that he wanted to become an actor, and quickly returned to the United States to pursue such a career.
He began his acting career in 1999, starting with guest roles on shows such as The Nanny, L.A. 7 and Odd Man Out. He became more known to viewers when, in 2001, he joined the cast of the daytime drama Passions, taking over the role of suave ladies’ man Hank Bennett from Dalton James. He played the role until his character was dropped off-canvas in 2004. During his tenure on the soap, he continued making guest appearances on prime time, and later made his film debut, in the 2003 family drama King of the Ants.
When Passions ended, McPartlin took a role in the comedy series Living with Fran. Debuting in 2005, he appeared as Riley Martin, the much younger boyfriend of interior designer Fran Reeves (Fran Drescher). The series was cancelled after two seasons, leaving behind a cliffhanger for a series finale. He then took a role in the action-comedy series Chuck, as “Captain Awesome” Devon Woodcomb, one of Chuck Bartowski’s (Zachary Levi) colleagues at the local Buy More.
He also continued appearing on other shows, as well as in films such as The Shadow Effect, Model Family and Underfunded. He also auditioned for the lead role in the superhero film Superman Returns, but lost the role of Brandon Routh. Outside of acting, he immerses in sports, and is also a board certified personal trainer.