Colton Ryan (born June 10, 1995) is an American actor and singer. He is known for his performance as Conrad "Coco" Roy in the Hulu miniseries '' The Girl from Plainville'' (2022), for which he garnered critical acclaim, and for playing Connor Murphy, a role in which he understudied in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical ''

Dear Evan Hansen ''Dear Evan Hansen'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Steven Levenson. The musical follows Evan Hansen, a high school senior with social anxiety, "who invents an important role for himself in a ...

'' and reprised in the 2021 film adaptation. He is also known for originating Gene Laine in ''

Girl from the North Country "Girl from the North Country" (occasionally known as "Girl ''of'' the North Country") is a song written by Bob Dylan. It was recorded at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City in April 1963, and released the following month as the second tra ...

'', and the main role of Samuel on the

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription streaming service owned and operated by Apple Inc. Launched on November 1, 2019, it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service was announced ...

series '' Little Voice''.

Early life and acting career

Ryan was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. Ryan attended the School for the Creative and Performing Arts (SCAPA) for grades six through twelve, where he majored in theatre. His acting career took off in 2015 while attending

Baldwin Wallace University Baldwin Wallace University (BW) is a private university in Berea, Ohio. It was founded in 1845 as Baldwin Institute by Methodist businessman John Baldwin. The school merged with nearby German Wallace College in 1913 to become Baldwin-Wallace Co ...

when he played Dickon in the Idaho Shakespeare Festival production of

The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in '' The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is one of Burnett's most popular novels an ...

''. He made his Broadway debut in 2016 as the standby for Evan Hansen, Connor Murphy and Jared Kleinman in ''

'', which he stayed until 2017, when he graduated with his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Baldwin Wallace University. That same year, he made his television debut in a guest role on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and then played the recurring role of J.J. Elkins on the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global ...

series ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...

'' the following year. In 2019, he originated the role of White Rabbit/Alfred Hallam/March Hare in the Off-Broadway production of Alice By Heart and made his film acting debut in ''The Social Ones'' and ''

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

''. In 2020, he starred in the

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

musical ''

'' as Gene Laine, a role in which he originated in the 2018 Off-Broadway production, but the production was shut down that May due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. In 2020, he starred in the main role of Samuel on the

series '' Little Voice'' and as Bruce in the Amazon Studios film '' Uncle Frank''. It was also announced that year that he would reprise the role of Connor Murphy in

Stephen Chbosky Stephen Chbosky (; born January 25, 1970) is an American screenwriter, film producer, film director, novelist, television writer, and television producer. He is best-known for writing the bestselling coming-of-age novel '' The Perks of Being a W ...

's film adaptation of ''Dear Evan Hansen'', which premiered as the Opening Night Gala Presentation of the

2021 Toronto International Film Festival The 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, the 46th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held from September 9 to 18, 2021.Barry Hertz"TIFF planning ‘substantially bigger’ 2021 film festival compared to last year’ ...

, followed by a theatrical release on September 24, 2021. In 2021, he was cast opposite

Elle Fanning Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. She made her film debut as the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character in the drama film '' I Am Sam'' (2001). As a child actress, she appeared in several films, i ...

in the Hulu drama series '' The Girl from Plainville'' based on the

death of Conrad Roy Conrad Henri Roy III (September 12, 1995 – July 13, 2014) was an American teenager who died by suicide at the age of 18. His girlfriend, 17-year-old Michelle Carter, had encouraged him in text messages to kill himself. The case was the subject ...

. His performance in the series received critical acclaim.

Theatre credits

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

In 2019, he received a

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre s ...

for Outstanding Debut Performance for ''

''.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Colton 1995 births 21st-century American male actors American male musical theatre actors American male film actors American male television actors Living people Baldwin Wallace University alumni Male actors from Kentucky People from Lexington, Kentucky Actors from Lexington, Kentucky Musicians from Lexington, Kentucky