Amy Beth Dziewiontkowski (born May 3, 1968), known professionally as Amy Ryan, is an American actress. She began her professional stage career in 1987 and made her Broadway debut in 1993 as a replacement in the original production of Wendy Wasserstein's The Sisters Rosensweig. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performances in Uncle Vanya (2000) and A Streetcar Named Desire (2005), and the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for (2024).
For her breakthrough film role as a troubled single mother in the thriller Gone Baby Gone (2007), Ryan was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other films include You Can Count on Me (2000), Capote (2005), Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007), Changeling (2008), Birdman (2014), Bridge of Spies (2015), The Infiltrator (2016), and Beau Is Afraid (2023).
On television, she played Beadie Russell in the HBO crime series The Wire (2002–2008) and Holly Flax in the NBC sitcom The Office (2008–2011), and has also featured in the HBO drama series In Treatment (2010), the Hulu mystery comedy series Only Murders in the Building (2021–2024), and the Apple TV+ mystery series Sugar (2024).
Following a brief stint playing a runaway on As the World Turns, Ryan was cast in television series such as I'll Fly Away, After roles on ER and Chicago Hope, Ryan became a series regular on The Naked Truth as Téa Leoni's spoiled stepdaughter.Tucker, Ken (November 3, 1995). "The Naked Truth" . Entertainment Weekly. Amy Ryan In 1993, she made her first appearance on NBC's Law & Order, appearing in several episodes over the years.
Ryan was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play twice: in 2000, for her portrayal of Sonya Alexandrovna in Uncle Vanya, and in 2005, for her performance as Stella Kowalski opposite John C. Reilly in A Streetcar Named Desire.
Because of the deletion of the scene where she played Eric Stoltz's wife in Allison Anders's Grace of My Heart, Ryan made her 1999 film debut in Roberta. She then briefly appeared in You Can Count on Me, which starred Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo, and the mystery/thriller Keane. By 2001, director Sidney Lumet cast her in 100 Centre Street playing three different roles (Ellen, Paris and Rebecca). Spotlight on Amy Ryan , Comingsoon.net From 2003 to 2008 Ryan went on to feature prominently in HBO's crime drama series The Wire, playing Port Authority Officer Beadie Russell. Speakeasy AMY RYAN two.one.five magazine Actress Amy Ryan keeps things interesting, taking parts on stage, on screen and on TV , Monterey Herald Albert Brooks chose her to play his wife in Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World in 2005, and 2007 brought both Dan in Real Life and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Her role as a star-struck sheriff's wife in Capote earned her positive reviews, but it was playing a hardened welfare mom in Ben Affleck's Gone Baby Gone that finally brought her national attention.
Ryan appeared in Changeling (2008), directed by Clint Eastwood, and opposite Matt Damon in Paul Greengrass's Green Zone (2010). Q&A – Amy Ryan on What Affleck, Eastwood, and the Green Zone Director Have in Common , FilmCritic.com In September 2010, she completed filming a role in Philip Seymour Hoffman's directorial film debut, Jack Goes Boating, taking over the role of Connie originally played by Beth Cole in the stage version. Ryan received strong notices for her performance in Tom McCarthy's Win Win the next year, winning Best Supporting Actress awards from multiple regional critics groups. From 2008 to 2011 She appeared for a six-episode arc on The Office as dorky Human resources rep Holly Flax. She reprised her role on The Office in seasons 5 and 7. Amy Ryan Returning to The Office, TVGuide.com Ryan joined the cast of HBO's In Treatment for its third season in 2010, playing the therapist of Dr. Paul Weston.
Ryan was a part of the core ensemble of the 2014 Best Picture Academy Award winning film Birdman, sharing in the cast's Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture victory. In 2015, she starred as Mary Donovan opposite Tom Hanks in the film Bridge of Spies, and reunited with her In Treatment co-star Gabriel Byrne in Louder Than Bombs, the English-language debut of Joachim Trier. Early the next year, Ryan was cast as Tracy, her first on-screen leading role, in Abundant Acreage Available, a rural family drama from Junebug screenwriter Angus MacLachlan. Upon the film's premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, Ryan drew universal acclaim for her performance, with The Wrap noting that she "holds the screen no matter what she's doing and who she's with" and Flavorwire raving that Ryan "sounds notes that are quietly dazzling in their complexity." Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge dubbed the performance a career highlight:
It's a pleasure to see such a fine actress navigate the nuances of her role ... Only on the big screen are we able to fully appreciate the minutely detailed nature of Ryan's performance, revealing Tracy's soul via the slightest narrowing of the eyes or the almost-subliminal tensing of her cheekbones. As we know, Junebug earned Amy Adams an Oscar nomination, and if the world were fair, this role would bring another Amy similar attention.
Ryan received some of the best reviews of her career for her leading role in the Roundabout Theater Company's 2016 production of Love, Love, Love. Ben Brantley of The New York Times praised her "smashing comic performance," The Hollywood Reporter called her work "emotionally vital," and The Associated Press raved that "Ryan is absolutely magnetic ... nailing her charming, unpredictable character with perfect comedic timing." In an article exploring various famous actresses working on the stage, The Washington Post theater critic Peter Marks highlighted Ryan's work in the play:
The revelation is not that Amy Ryan is good. It's that she's this good ... Ryan, whose range has been apparent for years, in dramatic performances nominated for Tonys ( Uncle Vanya) and Oscars ( Gone Baby Gone), as well as in nuanced comic turns on television shows like The Office, manages a feat in Love, Love, Love that she's never accomplished so fluidly before: taking charge. She delivers a front-and-center performance of such beguiling dynamism (in a thoroughly convincing English accent) that you feel this Roundabout Theatre Company production has done for her precisely what was intended. It exposes a new facet of her talent — and leaves us with that uplifting itch, to be there the next time she's on a stage.
For her performance in Love, Love, Love, Ryan won the Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress, and was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play and the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance.
In 2021, Amy Ryan played Jan Bellows, a main role, in the first season of Hulu series Only Murders in the Building co-starring with Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. In 2023 she appeared in Ari Aster's A24 black comedy psychological horror film Beau Is Afraid starring Joaquin Phoenix. In the film she played Grace, who, alongside Nathan Lane's Roger, takes Beau in for a brief period of time.
1999 | Roberta | Judy | |
2000 | You Can Count on Me | Rachel Louise Prescott | |
A Pork Chop for Larry | Beth | Short film | |
2004 | Keane | Lynn Bedik | |
2005 | War of the Worlds | Neighbor with Toddler | |
Capote | Marie Dewey | ||
Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World | Emily Brooks | ||
2006 | Marvelous | Queenie | |
2007 | Gone Baby Gone | Helene McCready | |
Neal Cassady | Carolyn Cassady | ||
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead | Martha Hanson | ||
Dan in Real Life | Eileen Burns | ||
2008 | Changeling | Carol Dexter | |
2009 | The Missing Person | Miss Charley | Also executive producer |
Bob Funk | Ms. Wright | ||
2010 | Jack Goes Boating | Connie | |
Green Zone | Lawrie Dayne | ||
2011 | Win Win | Jackie Flaherty | |
2013 | Breathe In | Megan Reynolds | |
Escape Plan | Abigail Ross | ||
Devil's Knot | Margaret Lax | ||
2014 | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) | Sylvia | |
2015 | Don Verdean | Carol | |
Louder Than Bombs | Hannah | ||
Goosebumps | Gale Cooper | ||
Bridge of Spies | Mary McKenna Donovan | ||
2016 | Central Intelligence | Agent Pamela Harris | |
The Infiltrator | Bonni Tischler | ||
Monster Trucks | Cindy Coley | ||
2017 | Abundant Acreage Available | Tracy Ledbetter | |
2018 | Beautiful Boy | Vicki Sheff | |
2019 | Late Night | Caroline Morton | |
Strange but True | Charlene Chase | ||
2020 | Worth | Camille Biros | |
Lost Girls | Mari Gilbert | ||
2023 | Beau Is Afraid | Grace | |
2024 | Wolfs | Margaret | |
1990 | As the World Turns | Renee | Unknown episodes |
1991 | Quantum Leap | Libby McBain | Episode: "Raped - June 20, 1980" |
Brooklyn Bridge | Young Sophie | Episode: "Old Fools" | |
1992 | Home Improvement | Robin | Episode: "Luck Be a Taylor Tonight" |
I'll Fly Away | Parkie Sasser | 6 episodes | |
1993; 2006 | Law & Order | Amy / Valerie Messick | 2 episodes |
1995 | Sirens | April Ward | Episode: "The Abduction" |
ER | Sister Elizabeth | Episode: "Love Among the Ruins" | |
1995–1996 | The Naked Truth | Chloe Banks | 20 episodes |
1998 | Chicago Hope | Helen Sherwood | Episode: "Liver, Hold the Mushrooms" |
A Will of Their Own | Carrie Baker | Miniseries | |
1999 | Erika Cullen | Episode: "A Case of Do or Die" | |
2000 | Lorraine Hansen | Episode: "Bad Blood" | |
2001–2002 | 100 Centre Street | Rebecca Rifkind / Ellen | 7 episodes |
2003; 2007 | Julie Turner / Edie Nelson | 2 episodes | |
2003–2008 | The Wire | Beadie Russell | 20 episodes |
2004 | Third Watch | Dr. Jenny Hanson | Episode: "Last Will and Testament" |
2006 | American Experience | Luzena Wilson | Episode: "The Gold Rush" |
2006–2007 | Kidnapped | Maureen Campbell | 2 episodes |
2008 | Independent Lens | Anita Hoffman | Episode: "Chicago 10" |
2008–2011 | The Office | Holly Flax | 17 episodes |
2010 | In Treatment | Adele | 8 episodes |
2013 | Clear History | Wendy the Waitress | Television film |
2015–2017 | Broad City | Heidi Strand | 2 episodes |
2016–2019 | High Maintenance | Gigi | 2 episodes |
2018 | Robot Chicken | Lobster Lady / Psylocke / Liesl von Trapp | Voice Episode: "Shall I Visit the Dinosaurs?" |
2020 | I'll Be Gone in the Dark | Michelle McNamara's Writings Read By | Voice 6 episodes |
2021–2022; 2024 | Only Murders in the Building | Jan Bellows | Main role |
2024 | Sugar | Melanie Matthews | Main Role |
+Amy Ryan audio work | |||
2019 | The Horror of Dolores Roach | Georgie | Fiction podcast series Episode: "The Single Greatest Threat to Our Survival" |
Second Stage Theatre, Off-Broadway |
Todd Haimes Theatre, Broadway |
2007 | Academy Award | Best Supporting Actress | Gone Baby Gone | ||
2007 | Golden Globe Award | Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | |||
2007 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role | |||
2014 | Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture | Birdman | |||
2021 | Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Only Murders in the Building | |||
2000 | Tony Awards | Best Featured Actress in a Play | Uncle Vanya | ||
2005 | Best Featured Actress in a Play | A Streetcar Named Desire | |||
2024 | Best Leading Actress in a Play | ||||
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