Ryan Merriman is an American actor. He began his acting career as a child actor during the mid-1990s and has appeared in 30 Hollywood films and television shows to date. He was born in Choctaw, Oklahoma, the son of Earl and Nona Merriman. At a young age, he began acting in commercials, print work, vocal performances, and local theater in Oklahoma.

His first major role was on the television series, The Mommies, which ran from 1993 to 1995. During the mid and late 1990s, he appeared in most episodes of The Pretender as a younger version of the title character. Merriman also starred in several made-for-television films, including Smart House, The Luck of the Irish, and as a young Meyer Lansky in Lansky. In 1999, he appeared in the feature film The Deep End of the Ocean, playing the lost son of Michelle Pfeiffer's character, and subsequently starred as the main character, a Jewish boy from the Bronx, in the film Just Looking, which received a limited theatrical release in 2000. In 2002, he played the Madeleine L'Engle character Adam Eddington in yet another Disney Channel original movie, A Ring of Endless Light. In the years following, Merriman again returned to television roles, and appeared in Dangerous Child, co-starring Delta Burke, the mini-series Taken (2003-2004), and a guest role on Smallville in 2004.

During this time period, Merriman's roles also included the horror films Halloween: Resurrection (2002), The Ring Two (2005) and Final Destination 3 (2006). He is one of the stars of Home of the Giants, a high school drama co-starring Haley Joel Osment and Danielle Panabakerwhich has yet to be released. He also appears in the CBS mini-series Comanche Moon.

His hobbies include golf, four-wheel and dirt bikes, team sports, water sports, horseback riding, martial arts, basketball, skiing, and snowboarding.

Ryan married his high school sweetheart, Micol Duncan, also from Oklahoma. Some of his best friends, co-stars and fans who meet him describe him as a genuine, funny and charismatic man.