Home and Away’s red Speedo-clad lifeguard, Vinnie Patterson, was a charming outcast who, at various points, also worked as a part-time stripper and attended high school.
In other storylines, Vinnie was given a testicular cancer diagnosis, transformed into Vin-Vin the clown, a children’s entertainer, and experienced one of the soap’s most well-known relationships with Leah.
Poor Vinnie, portrayed by Ryan Kwanten from 1997 to 2002, eventually ended up in prison for fraud after being falsely accused by a business partner. Soap opera producers then killed off his character, who was now placed under witness protection, by claiming that he had perished in a farming accident.
But for Ryan, a Sydney native, the conclusion of his stint on Home and Away was just the start of a fantastic acting career.
He relocated to the United States and was given a role in the teen drama Summerland before becoming famous for playing dashing sheriff deputy Jason Stackhouse in the wildly successful vampire thriller True Blood from 2008 to 2014.
In addition to developing into a moral crusader throughout the course of the series, Jason gained notoriety for an extremely explicit sex scene with Eric Northman, played by Alexander Skarsgrd.
In a 2016 interview, Alexander claimed that Ryan Kwanten was “surprisingly good at kissing.”
The Sopranos was eventually surpassed by True Blood as HBO’s most watched television programme, winning numerous Emmy and Golden Globe awards in the process.
Other significant TV parts followed, such as Them, Kindred, and The Oath, where he played a crooked cop caught up in a conflict between police gangs.
But Ryan, now 46, has dealt with plenty of personal drama away from the cameras. Along with a health issue for his father, two of his acting pals suddenly passed away.
He’s OK now, but it was a great shock to him — and to all of us — to know how easily he might have lost his life, Ryan said in 2019 when discussing his dad’s plight with Australia’s news.com.au. Some folks are never given another chance. You should, in my opinion, “live for every f**king moment.”
This occurred simultaneously with the tragic passing of Nelsan Ellis, who portrayed Lafayette in True Blood, and former Home and on cast member Ben Unwin, who played Jesse McGregor on that show. Unwin passed on the day before his 42nd birthday.
Ryan also said to news.com.au, “In a way, being older has made me more aware of my own mortality. “While I don’t always consider the past, I do focus more on the temporary aspect of our existence. You lose friends as you age, too. that might give you a kick in the pants, and if it doesn’t, it should.
Since June 2013, Ryan has been dating Ashley Sisino, his fiancée. The couple currently resides in Los Angeles and shares an apartment with wealthy residents of Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
