Biographie
Ron is the second most renowned actor from Claygate, England, following the late Terry Jones. In third place is a beagle named "Toby," known for a recurring role on the 1970s BBC sitcom To the Manor Born (1979). Ron relocated to the U.S. in 1979 to avoid convictions from a series of unjustified speeding tickets and to study History at U.C. Berkeley. Hesitant to begin repaying student loans, he seized the chance to join the M.F.A. Acting program at N.Y.U., spending three valuable years alongside neurotic talents such as Rob LaBelle, Augusta Allen-Jones, Marcia Gay Harden, Bill Mondy, Ami Brabson, Teagle F. Bougere, and Eliza Foss.
He has performed in over 125 plays Off-Broadway, regionally, in converted Circle K stores, and in Los Angeles, portraying a wide range of roles—from Nazis and lyrical men in doublets to IRA rebels, pompous hotel detectives, cowboy politicians, and numerous characters struggling with anger or terminal illness. In 2006, he played Anton Chekhov in "Chekhov and Maria" at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles; the production later moved to the Barrow Group Theatre in NYC in July 2006. The New York Times praised Ron's performance as "outstanding and complex," a sentiment he agreed with.
In November 2007, "Chekhov and Maria," starring Ron and Gillian Brashear and directed by the legendary Eric Till, was filmed for a spring 2008 release. It eventually aired on PBS in March 2012 after screenings in various European countries and numerous festival appearances, garnering multiple awards—though none for Ron's acting, possibly due to widespread judging corruption.
In 2008, Ron joined L.A.'s Rogue Machine Theatre to portray the sympathetic yet psychopathic killer "Leftie" in the world premiere of John Pollono's "Razorback." The L.A. Times described his performance as "vivid and intriguing," Variety called it "compelling," and the L.A. Weekly hailed it "terrific" and "very rich," all after less than a week in Ron's windowless basement. He returned to Rogue Machine in 2009 as the "charismatically creepy" Hector Zook in the West Coast premiere of Lisa Dillman's "Half of Plenty," and in 2010 at The Odyssey Theatre as the "psychotic" and "ghoulish" waiter Eisenring in the acclaimed revival of Max Frisch's "The Arsonists."
At the end of 2010, Ron appeared in six months of sold-out performances of Cormac McCarthy's "The Sunset Limited" at Rogue Machine alongside Tucker Smallwood, in a production nominated by The L.A. Weekly for "Best Two-Person Play." That summer, he portrayed Russian entrepreneur Max Tarasov at The Geffen Playhouse in the West Coast premiere of Tracy Letts' "Superior Donuts," sharing the stage with Gary Cole and Edi Gathegi. Critics noted his versatility: one reviewer said he was "so good, and so different from his character in 'The Sunset Limited,'" another mentioned only recognizing him after reading his bio in the program, another called him "brusque," yet another "irrepressible," and one likened him to "an unwanted disease." High praise indeed.
Since then, Ron has played a penguin in the world premiere of Henry Murray's Ovation Award-nominated "Monkey Adored" at Rogue Machine, Carr Gomm in Pomerance's "The Elephant Man" at L.A.'s Theater 68, and various roles in The Odyssey's LA Weekly Award-nominated "Theatre in the Dark." He continued at The Odyssey as "Jackie Farrell," the heartless vice-lord, in the American premiere of "Rank." Additionally, he has appeared in commercials as a London cabbie for an NBA/Cisco spot, as "Farnsworth," a highly motivated chauffeur in the "Lost Footage" Grey Poupon commercial, and as a reluctant golfer in a Nike golf ball ad. He is also recognizable as the man in the Geico "medieval torture chamber" commercial, the spy in another Geico ad, and the singing D.P. in an iPhone 15 commercial.
Other stage credits include "The Unexpected Man" at the Two Roads Theater with Sasha Higgins; prior to that, he appeared in Enda Walsh's "Penelope" at Rogue Machine, directed by John Perrin Flynn. He also starred in Greg Kalleres' "Honky," directed by Gregg Daniel at Rogue Machine, alongside Burl Moseley, Inger Tudor, Bruce Nozick, Tasha Ames, James Liebman, Matthew Hancock, and Christian Henley. A full season at The Odyssey followed, featuring "Hir," "Faith Healer," and "Loot," then Sarah Kane's "4.48 Psychosis" at Son of Semele. He made a triumphant return to Rogue Machine as Gen. Leslie Groves in "Oppenheimer" and as a mad climate scientist in "Earthquakes in London." Though Rogue Machine has grown weary of him, The Fountain Theatre has harnessed his talent in productions like "The Children," "The Lifespan of a Fact," and the world premiere of "Fatherland." The latter enjoyed a five-month sold-out run in Los Angeles, earning Ron a 2025 LADCC nomination and the 2025 Stage Raw award for Best Actor, followed by a critically acclaimed three-month Off-Broadway run at MTC’s City Center Theater.
Back in Los Angeles, Ron returned to Rogue Machine, earning a 2026 LADCC nomination for Best Featured Actor as patriarch Mike Keating in "Corktown ‘39." Recently, he triumphed at The Odyssey playing a chilling middle-class English husband in Pinter’s "The Lover." Until recently, he was the regular host of Rogue Machine Theatre's monthly spoken-word series "Rant and Rave," now in its 15th year.
Ron has been riding motorcycles since 1975 (legally since 1977), accumulating over 1.25 million miles. He has been a BMWMOA member since 1984 and proudly belongs to the Iron Butt Association, once riding his R1100RT from L.A. to Seattle in 17 rain-soaked hours. During the COVID hiatus, he self-isolated by riding his new R1250RT for six months, covering 52,000 miles on backroads across the lower 48 states. He is a pilot, diligently working towards his instrument rating. Ron owns and operates Canyon Flyer Inc., a motorcycle messenger service in Los Angeles.
He is married to the talented and beautiful actress Kathryn Kelley and has managed to raise two smart-alecky children, Dan (born 1995) and Sasha (born 1997), as well as a stepchild, Mika (born 1994), all of whom mean nearly as much to him as his career and motorcycles.
