Amy Ryan is a Tony-nominated stage veteran and television star who has carved out a niche as a gifted supporting actress. She’s a master of characters who seem lived-in and ordinary, whether she’s playing Beadie Russell on HBO’s gritty series The Wire or Holly Flax on the NBC sitcom The Office. She also has appeared in a number of movies, including You Can Count on Me, Capote, and Changeling. Her latest film, Abundant Acreage Available, is a drama about a tobacco farmer mourning her father’s death and grappling with the future of her family’s land.
Ryan has a snarky sense of humor that’s often displayed in the show’s guest appearances. She’s been known to troll her co-star Tim Allen, poke fun at his klutzish tendencies, and call out the show for its sexist attitudes towards women.
Originally from Queens, New York, Ryan trained at the High School of the Performing Arts and at the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center before landing her first acting role in a national tour of Neil Simon’s play Biloxi Blues. She would go on to have recurring roles in several TV shows, including The Office and the comedy-drama series In Treatment, before gaining notice for her performance as Helene, a troubled single mother, in Gone Baby Gone (2007). The film earned her a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She’s also starred as Mari Gilbert in the Netflix series Lost Girls (2022) and Jan Bellows on Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building (2019-present).
In addition to her acting career, Ryan serves on several local community boards and commissions. She’s currently the president of the Chapel Hill Board of Trustees and has chaired the Morgan Creek Greenway Committee and the Sustainable Community Visioning Task Force. She’s also served on various advisory councils and committees, including the Town’s Land Planning Commission, the Central West Focus Area Steering Committee, and the Community Design Commission. In her own home, she injects pops of color into her Newtown residence with a fresh take on modern farmhouse style. See how she did it, in the gallery below.