After his stint ended, he joined the American teen drama series Summerland, portraying Jay Robertson.

The boys were raised by mother Kris, a Lifeline op shop coordinator, and father Eddie Kwanten, a worker at NSW Maritime.

Ryan attended St Paul's Catholic College in Manly and later earned a degree in commerce from The University of Sydney.

[5] He won a lead role in the 2013 Joe Lynch comedy-horror film Knights of Badassdom along with Steve Zahn, Summer Glau and Peter Dinklage.

[6] In October 2010, it was announced that Kwanten will play Charles Manson in an upcoming, yet-to-be-titled biopic, to be directed by Brad Anderson.

His most recent roles include 2067, an Australian-American science fiction film in which he plays Jude Mathers, 2021's Them, as milkman George Bell, and Kindred, a TV adaptation of Octavia Butler's Novel of the same name.