EnterTeenmentNews.com Presents: One to Watch
Actor Ryan Lee’s Career is Blowing Up! This Rising Talent is Definitely “One to Watch!”
By: Susan J. Yeager
Ryan Lee captured movie fans’ attention this summer with his breakout role in the hit film “Super 8.” Lee leaves a lasting impression on film goers, playing the memorable role of “Cary,” a friend of the main character’s (Joe), who has a tendency to carry firecrackers in a backpack and blow things up on a whim. This trait turns out to come in very handy when the group of friends has to save their town from unexpected visitors with cruel intentions.
Ryan is a Texas native who was born with an outgoing personality. He ended up falling into acting when trying to pass the time during a summer break. “I had a list of camps to choose from,” he recalls. “It could have been anything, sports… art… and I choose acting.” It proved to be a natural fit for the friendly and talented youngster. “I got an agent at the end of it and it’s the same agent who got me the ‘Super 8’ audition.”
His first professional acting gig ironically, was a bit part on “Friday Night Lights” which starred Kyle Chandler, the actor who would play another lead in “Super 8.” He also landed small parts on other TV series’ like “Breaking Bad” and movies like “Shorts.”
Then he went on an audition that would ultimately change his life. This film was being directed by J.J. Abrams and listed Steven Spielberg as an executive producer. Those are two of the top names in the entertainment industry. Adding another element of intrigue to this project was the fact that it was top secret! Ryan wasn’t allowed to discuss the audition with anyone! “They sent confidentiality forms to my Dad and sister,” he recalls. They even tried to throw actors off during the audition process. “It was a fake script called ‘Darlings’ or something,” Ryan says of keeping all the secrets of “Super 8” under wraps.
Even Ryan’s Grandmother had to be kept in the dark. “I couldn’t tell my Grandma until two months in.” The teenager told family in friends he was in California auditioning for other things. His friends got a very unexpected surprise while watching the ultimate football game. “My friends didn’t know until they saw the commercial during the Super Bowl.”
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For the first few weeks of filming, the cast and crew were based in a small town in West Virginia named Weirton. Some would think that the teenagers would get bored and wish for a little more options in terms of entertainment, but Ryan loved the town. “They were so nice,” he said of the people in the community that thoroughly embraced the filming. “They’d say ‘Come to my house when you are done and let me fix you dinner!”
Ryan was so appreciative of the support, he returned to the city for their special movie premiere. “June ninth I went back to Weirton. They had a raffle for people to see the movie a day early. You would hear people in the back of the theater saying ‘That’s my house.’ When does that happen?” he laughs. “It was fun.”
The group of young actors Ryan shared the screen with (Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Riley Griffiths, Zach Mills and Gabriel Basso) appear so close on-screen partly because they became so close off-screen. Ryan still keeps in touch with everyone as much as possible. “We all have twitter,” he says of the main way they communicate. “Some of them don’t have phones so I can’t text them.” The easy friendship between the young cast helped develop their characters more than most people realize. “J.J. didn’t want us to do much research. He wanted us to just be kids,” Ryan says about preparing for the role ahead of time.
If you didn’t catch this much-talked about film when it was in theaters, you will have the chance to see what the rave reviews are about when it hits Blu-ray and DVD on November 22. Fans who loved the experience in the theater will have the chance to re-live their favorite moments over and over again and get even more acquainted with the film, thanks to the home video bonus features.
Hopefully, the release of the movie on home video will increase the times that Ryan is recognized in public as he likes talking with people, especially about the movie that he loves so much. “They end up being the ones who want to walk away from me,” he laughs about fans that approach him. “I want to keep talking and get their two cents on the movie.”
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When Ryan isn’t working, he says he’s a fairly typical teenager who spends his free time doing “anything a normal teenage boy does. I ride my skateboard. I play sports. I blow things up,” he jokes.
He probably shouldn’t get used to having too much time as his acting schedule has become more in demand lately. He’s already completed a film called “Meeting Evil” with Samuel L. Jackson and Luke Wilson. When we chatted with Ryan, he was hard at work on a Judd Apatow project called “This is Forty.” In the film, recent Emmy-winner, Melissa McCarthy plays his Mom. The star-studded movie also stars Megan Fox, Jason Segel, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann.
Ryan is a lot of fun, in person and on-screen and it will be just as much fun to watch his career blow-up like one of his character’s firecrackers. Keep and eye on this one guys! He’s going to be entertaining us for a long time to come!