He has supporting roles in a variety of films, including Teknolust, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Book of Life, Dream Boy, and the sequels to Henry Fool, Fay Grim (2007) and Ned Rifle (2014).
He played pioneering gay Activist Harry Hay in the initial production of the play The Temperamentals in 2009 in New York. In 2016, Ryan played Thomas Putnam in Ivo van Hove's production of Arthur Miller's play The Crucible at the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway.
