Ryan Stiles (born April 22, 1959) is a North American actor and improvisational comedian. He was born in Seattle, Washington, United States, the youngest of five children.

When Ryan was ten, his Canadian-born parents moved the family to Richmond, British Columbia. At the age of 17, he dropped out of high school to pursue a career in comedy, working in his father's fish-processing plant to earn a living while doing stand-up in Vancouver-area night clubs. In 1986, Stiles auditioned for and got a stint with Toronto's renowned Second City comedy ensemble. By 1990, he 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 1995, and the show's short production season allowed him to make numerous television and motion picture appearances in the United States as well.

In 1995, Stiles was tapped by American comic Drew Carey to be a regular on his situation comedy, The Drew Carey Show. Stiles and Carey continued work on the comedy even as they brought Whose Line Is It Anyway? (now out of production) to American television (also out of production), with Carey as the new host. Both men appeared weekly on the program as well as being its executive producers.

In 2002, Stiles and Sean Masterson (formerly of the British Whose Line...) finished work on a screenplay, Live Bait, which is reportedly in production.

In 2004, Stiles appeared on the pilot episode of Drew Carey's Green Screen Show and will appear occasionally throughout the series.

Ryan Stiles is married and has three children. While not working in Hollywood, he lives at his home in Bellingham, Washington.

External links

• The IMDb entry on Stiles http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0830198/
• Ryan Stiles biography http://www.wchstv.com/abc/whoselineisit/ryanstiles.html
• Improv Genius: Ryan Stiles (fansite) http://www.geocities.com/mnmpeanut76/Ryan_fanpage.html