Ryan Francis Atwood (born March 19, 1988) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Fox television series The O.C., portrayed by Ben McKenzie. Atwood is an outcast and troubled teenager from Chino, California, who is given a second chance when the wealthy Cohen family takes him in.
Concept and creation
Casting
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|style="text-align: left;"|"When Benjamin [McKenzie] came in, he wasn't physically what Josh [Schwartz] had envisioned, but he inhabited the character, unlike anyone we had seen. I think that the character of Ryan is a kid that always seems a little lost and has a sense of mystery and danger; Benjamin has all those qualities."
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|style="text-align: left;" |— Patrick Rush on the casting of Benjamin McKenzie as Ryan Chad Michael Murray refused the role in favor of playing Lucas Scott on One Tree Hill. Rush invited Benjamin McKenzie to audition after Warner Bros. introduced him following an unsuccessful audition for a UPN sitcom. McKenzie, who had spent two years in New York City and Los Angeles seeking acting work, lacked experience and later described his selection as "a tremendous leap of faith" on the producers' part. Show creator Josh Schwartz said in 2014, "[McKenzie] took it really seriously, and brought a lot of integrity, and integrity is not always required in a Fox teen drama".
Characterization
Background
The character Ryan was physically abused by his biological father Frank and some of his mother Dawn's boyfriends. He has a complicated, love-hate relationship with his older brother Trey. Both parents struggled with alcohol – Frank became physically abusive, while Dawn neglected and verbally abused him – and it left a deep impression on him, as shown by his aversion to strong alcoholic drinks. Coined from his own statements, Ryan never had a father figure for much of his life, before being adopted by the Cohens due to Frank's prison sentence and his mother's revolving door of boyfriends. The Atwoods lived in Fresno but moved to Chino after Frank was imprisoned.
In season 4, it is stated that Ryan had not seen Frank in eight years. Regarding Ryan's biological family, a major recurring theme revolved around abandonment. His mother abandoned him twice, his brother left for Las Vegas without telling him and his father left the brothers and their mom "with nothing" after serving his prison sentence. This is contrasted by the character's adopted family—the Cohens—who stood by Ryan despite his juvenile record, vocal criticisms and disdain from the other "Newpsies" about his adoption and his multiple attempts to run away from them. Although he does not address Mr. and Mrs. Cohen (Sandy and Kirsten respectively) as Dad or Mom, he makes it clear that he considers them to be his parents.
Personality
Ryan was born to and then raised in a working class family, as such he knew the lifestyle and attitudes of people from his neighborhood of Chino, California, as well as the dangers that occurred in cases where outsiders are influenced by its environment. His abusive past enabled him to develop an extremely high pain threshold, and he displays an impassive expression after being physically abused. He is tough, cynical and quick-tempered, and is virtually incapable of lying. Dad Sandy proved this in the episode "The O.Sea" when he caught Ryan trying to cover up for Seth but Ryan's "guilty face" gave it away.
Ryan's personality is the opposite of the socially awkward, sheltered and sometimes naïve adopted brother Seth, and Ryan frequently uses his street-savvy skills to get Seth out of trouble. Seth often jokes about how he knew both Summer and Marissa since elementary school despite having never spoken to them.
As a student, Ryan is described as highly intelligent despite his behavior problems (he was suspended multiple times for fighting and truancy). In the pilot episode, the audience learns that he took his SATs (the only sophomore doing so) and scored in the 98th percentile. According to his mother Dawn, Ryan was always "the smart one, the good one" in the family. and soccer (striker) in school.
Of the characters in the show, Ryan is closest to his adoptive brother Seth, and their respective love interests—Marissa and Summer. This "core four" group of friends is the basis of Seth's Atomic County comic series. Ryan and Seth often finish each other's sentences, according to Summer, "like they're composing a lie on the spot",
References
pl:Lista postaci serialu Życie na fali#Ryan Atwood