By TAYLOR VAN ARSDALE Special to the Daily Press
It’s days like these that I love my job. I’m in Starbucks, sitting next to actor Max Ryan — easily the sexiest man I’ve ever interviewed.
You can see him in Paul Anderson’s “Death Race” where he plays, Pachenko and gives a frightening portrayal of Jason Stratham’s crazed nemesis. He was in Poland shooting a television show when he read the sides for “Death Race” and had to audition by “putting it down on tape.” For this, Ryan created his own set, “something similar... a location that’s going to work for the character,” he says, knowing that, “a good backdrop always helps.” Ryan went the extra mile to get the job and it paid off. They requested a more personal tape, “to make sure I wasn’t really a “bad ass” like the one I was portraying,” Ryan jokes. He frequently portrays bad guys, assassins, mysterious drifters and the like, but you’d never guess you’re speaking with an evil villain — the real Ryan is such a charming, happy person.
As we talk, I find myself getting lost as I gaze into his dreamy blue/green eyes enticingly flecked with black and brown specks. Ryan’s originally from London, where he was a motor cross champion, racing cars and bikes until he says, “I had some really big crashes... breaking bones... and I got to the stage where I had done everything I was gonna do as professional racer. I reassessed my life.” This is when he tried acting. “And then I got the part in ‘Kiss of the Dragon’ with Jet Li,” he says.
Later, as we stroll down the Third Street Promenade, I notice women of all ages checking him out. The hostess from the little Italian restaurant, three middle-aged women sitting at an outdoor table at Barney’s, and two young girls whose heads turn as we walk by. It occurs to me that this is just like that scene in “Sex In The City,” the one where Miranda’s on a date with a really great looking guy, only we’re not on a date and... I’m prettier than Miranda. As a reporter I should ask Ryan if he’s got someone special in his life, but part of me doesn’t want to know, part of me wants the fantasy to linger. He’s all mine for 40 minutes — hostess eat your heart out.
When he’s not reading scripts for parts, Ryan practices tae kwon do; works out religiously, and recently drove for Land Rover in the San Francisco-Las Vegas leg of the Gumball 3000 International Car Rally. He’s even sporting the new orange Puma’s received from one of the sponsors.
I ask him about clothes and shopping. Ryan admits he’s “very minimalist... I’ve lived out of a suitcase, for three years now,” he says. Why is it when a man likes to rides motorcycles, drive fast cars, and can live out of a duffle bag, he appears all the more attractive? Ryan’s vagabond spirit coupled with the fact that he’s an all around nice guy is the key. He stops to give some homeless vet a sawbuck, pays for my coffee, and just treats everyone with respect. Yes, ladies start drooling.
But multi-talented Ryan is more than a pretty face. He recently wrote a screenplay with his writing partner Julio Ponce Palimeri and the two won the Queens Spirit award for Best Screen Play: “The Hunchback” based on Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback Of Notre Dame. Up next for Ryan are three features that are soon to be announced.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 19, 2008. Read the original PDF.