Benjamin McKenzie :: Character Guides

After helping his brother steal a car, Ryan Atwood was sent to jail and public defender Sandy Cohen was assigned to his case. Sandy helped get him out of jail, but when Ryan returned home to find that his mother had abandoned him, Sandy took Ryan in. Soon, after winning the hearts of the Cohen family, Sandy and Kirsten became Ryan's legal guardians, bringing him into their family.

Since the start, Ryan and the Cohen's quirky son, Seth, formed an unlikely friendship which soon turned into brotherly love. The two have been close ever since, being there when one needs the other.

Despite his bad-boy past, Ryan quickly caught the eye of Marissa Cooper, but their relationship has been rocky from the start. However, over the past three seasons, their relationship has survived several obstacles but continues to be an on-again-off-again relationship.

Ryan continues to try to overcome his past, but people from the past continue to reemerge in his life. Ryan's ex-girlfriend, Theresa, reappeared in his life, and Ryan soon learned that she was pregnant with his baby. In order to do the right thing, Ryan moved with her back to Chino, but when Theresa saw that his home is now in Newport, she lied to him that she had a miscarriage so he could return to Newport. Later, Ryan's brother, Trey, resurfaced and entered Ryan's life once again. But when Trey attempted to rape Marissa, Ryan fought him, resulting in Marissa shooting Trey to save Ryan's life. None the less, Ryan continues to rise above his past and recently has made plans to attend college and pursue a degree in architecture.