Ryan Stiles

Ryan Stiles
Ryan Stiles plays the part of Lewis, one of Drew's buddies on The Drew Carey Show
Personal Information
Gender:	Male
Birthname	Ryan Lee Stiles
Born:	(1959-04-22) April 22, 1959
Birthplace:	Seattle, WA, U.S.
Died	N/A
Occupation/ Career:	Actor/Comedian
Years Active:	1988-present
Spouse(s):	Patricia McDonald, 1988-present
Domestic partner(s):	N/A
Website/URL:	http://www.ryanstiles.com
Character information
Appeared on:	The Drew Carey Show
Appears as:	Lewis Kiniski
Episodes appeared in:	All

Ryan Lee Stiles (born April 22, 1959) plays the part of Lewis Kiniski, one of Drew's buddies, also one of the main characters on The Drew Carey Show.

About Ryan

A talented actor, comedian, director and voice actor, Ryan's work is often associated with improvisational comedy. He is best known for his career and co-production work on the American and British versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and the role of Lewis Kiniski on The Drew Carey Show. He plays Herb Melnick on the CBS-TV comedy series Two and a Half Men, and was a performer on the show Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza.

Early life/career

The youngest of five children, Ryan was born in Seattle, Washington, to Canadian parents, Irene and Sonny Stiles. He grew up with his mother, a homemaker, and his father, a supervisor at a Vancouver-based Canadian fish processing plant. When he was 10, his family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia. Ryan Stiles attended R.C. Palmer Junior Secondary School and Richmond Senior Secondary in Richmond, British Columbia. Although he was a good student, Stiles has admitted that "being a high-school senior gave [him] too much freedom." He got so carried away with his flexible schedule that at age 17, he quit school a few months shy of graduation.

In spite of his parents' objections, he was able to support himself doing stand-up routines at clubs near his home in Vancouver. He helped Rich Elwood start Punchlines Comedy Club. During this time he was the head writer of The Don Harron Show on CTV and the host of Comedy College on CBC. Ryan was a regular improv performer with the Vancouver Theatresports League and Punchline's "No Name Player" before joining the Second City comedy ensemble at Expo 86. He continued with Second City in Toronto and later in Los Angeles.

Whose Line Is It Anyway? and The Drew Carey Show

By 1989, Ryan had gained the attention of the producers of the British improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?. Stiles was a regular on the show until its end in 1998. His performance on the program earned him both critical praise and a devoted fan following in the United Kingdom.

In 1995, Stiles was asked by Drew Carey to be a regular on The Drew Carey Show. Stiles played Drew's erudite but underachieving best friend, Lewis Kiniski.

In 1998, Carey successfully lobbied ABC to get an American version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? produced. Following the final season of the British version in 1998, the American version premiered, with both Stiles and Carey credited as executive producers. Stiles and Colin Mochrie were the only two performers to appear in every episode of the US version, although Wayne Brady also became a regular near the beginning of the second season. The series was produced until 2006. Stiles received a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program in 2002 for his work on the show.

Though he never appeared in the series, Stiles (along with Kaitlin Olson) performed in the taping of the unaired pilot episode of Drew Carey's Green Screen Show, which involved improv games similar to Whose Line? games played in front of a massive green screen. Animation was later added to the improv footage.

Stiles returned as performer and executive producer for the revival of Whose Line Is It Anyway? in the summer of 2013.

Voice over work

For Disney, he voiced Spyro Lepton in Buzz Lightyear of Star Commanf, Hoot in Spooky Buddies, and Slither in Treasure Buddies.

Exeternal links

• Ryan Stiles at the Internet Movie Database
• Ryan Stiles article at Wikipedia