Biografia
Shane Ryan-Reid started making films at age 7, inspired by his father who introduced him to video editing when he was 5. Initially, he created action films, dreaming of being like and appearing in Jean-Claude Van Damme movies. However, by 14, he shifted his focus to dramas and stories about troubled youth. Shane directed his own films mainly to act and write, as directing was never his initial goal.
At 19, after watching Tim Roth's The War Zone (1999) and the provocative Baise-moi (2000), Shane realized film could be a powerful tool to address issues like child abuse and sexual assault, aiming to raise awareness and understanding through cinema. This led to controversy in his hometown as he began producing violent films centered on sexual abuse. His work gained underground and indie popularity online before his first theatrical release in 2007. Academy Award nominee Lesley Ann Warren was so disturbed by his film’s promotional materials displayed at Laemmle Theatres that she successfully campaigned to have them banned. In 2009, mainstream media criticized Shane after he announced plans for a film about human trafficking and Stockholm Syndrome, loosely inspired by the real-life rescue of Jaycee Dugard, with Lia Marie Johnson attached to star. He eventually abandoned that project to make My Name Is 'A' by Anonymous (2012), about convicted (then accused) killer Alyssa Bustamante. Shane described the media’s treatment of Alyssa as a "monstrous witch-hunt," paralleling his own media experiences, accusing them of sensationalizing the death of two children rather than seeking to understand the motives. He also suggested Alyssa may not have acted alone or may not have committed the murder. Years later, Shane and Alyssa had a brief conversation.
In 2014, director Albert Pyun (Cyborg, 1989) cast Shane in his first leading role in The Interrogation of Cheryl Cooper (2014). This led to a role in Gregory Hatanaka’s Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance (2015). Shane directed and co-starred in American Virus (2015), co-writing it with lead actress Miss Golden Globe Kathryn Eastwood, daughter of Clint Eastwood. In 2019, he starred in Choke (2020), continuing his character Brandon from his controversial debut, with Hatanaka writing and directing. Since then, Shane has appeared in leading and supporting roles in over 35 films.
Around 2020, Shane began co-producing films by other directors, contributing to over 150 projects by 2024. He has produced films featuring actors such as Shelley Duvall (returning after a 21-year hiatus), four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris, Mindhunter star Holt McCallany, Uncharted’s Sophia Ali, the late Tom Sizemore’s final films, controversial two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey’s comeback, 2024 Golden Globe nominee Alan Ruck (in his first role since the acclaimed HBO series Succession), Oscar winners Richard Dreyfuss and Louis Gossett Jr., Oscar nominees Bruce Dern, Sally Kirkland, Peter Weller, and Eric Roberts, Golden Globe nominees Malcolm McDowell, Lance Henriksen, Nancy Allen, and Nikki Blonsky, Lance Kerwin’s final film, National Board of Review winner Bai Ling, Critics Choice winner Jonathan Lipnicki, Screen Actors Guild winner Eli Roth and nominee Lorelei Linklater, MTV Movie Award nominee Tom Arnold, horror legends Lin Shaye (Insidious, 2010), Bonnie Aarons (The Nun, 2018), and Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street, 1984), ’90s icons Devon Sawa (Eminem: E, 2000), Tara Reid (American Pie, 1999), Edward Furlong (Terminator 2, 1991), Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs, 1992), Richard Grieco (21 Jump Street, 1987), Jason Scott Lee (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, 1993), ’80s star Steve Guttenberg (Police Academy, 1984; Short Circuit, 1986), Grammy winners ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic and Coolio, among many others. He has produced alongside Academy Award-winning producer Jonathan Sanger (The Elephant Man, 1980; Vanilla Sky, 2001), Dale Armin Johnson (Pawn Sacrifice, 2014; The Lost City of Z, 2016), writer/producer John Fusco (Young Guns, 1988; The Highwaymen, 2019), executive producer and showrunner Peter M. Lenkov (Magnum P.I., 2018; 24, 2001), and Slipknot frontman and Grammy winner Corey Taylor.
