Ryan Jamaal Swain

Ryan Swain was born to a single-mother household in Orlando, Florida, on March 13, 1994. He is the eldest of four children and grew up in Birmingham, Alabama.{{cite web|title=RYAN JAMAAL SWAIN |url=https://issuemagazine.com/ryan-jamaal-swain/#/ |work=ISSUE Magazine |quote=BIRTH DATE: 03/13/1999 BIRTH PLACE: Birmingham, AL WDE" "Where are you from? I’m from Birmingham, Alabama. I was born in Orlando, Florida, but I moved to Birmingham when I was six." "I was going to public high school and had been training to become a professional tennis player." "What’s next? Writing my teen fiction book about a young man finding his voice in the south—love and experience get mixed up there. |access-date=October 10, 2019}}

Whereas his family members geared towards the healthcare field, Swain showed an affinity for the arts at a young age. He began tap dancing lessons at the age of four and expanded his repertoire to include ballet, jazz, modern and hip-hop dancing. During his childhood, Swain worked with the Alabama Dance Academy, Alabama Ballet, Red Mountain Theatre Company, Birmingham Children's Theatre and Virginia Samford Theatre.

He began catalog modeling at the age of eight, and did not pursue acting until his freshman year of high school at the Alabama School of Fine Arts.{{Cite news|url=https://jmonecan.wordpress.com/interviews/ryan-jamaal-swain-renaissance-man/|title=Ryan Jamáal Swain|date=2012-07-04|work=Real Talk|access-date=2018-08-15|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.them.us/story/pose-black-gay-love|title=All Hail the Beautiful, Black Gay Love on 'Pose'|last=Reign|first=Eva|date=20 July 2018|work=them.|access-date=2018-08-15|language=en}} At the time, Swain was initially seeking an internship—as he was training to become a professional tennis player. He would go on to earn his B.F.A. from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and study at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, U.K.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ryanjswain.com/bio|title=ryan-jamaal-swain {{!}} BIO|website=ryan-jamaal-swain|language=en|access-date=2018-08-02}} Swain relocated to New York City upon completing his studies.

While attending Howard University, Swain appeared in productions such as Anything Goes.{{Cite news|url=https://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2015/03/09/anything-goes-at-howard-university/|title='Anything Goes' at Howard University - DC Metro Theater Arts|date=2015-03-09|work=DC Metro Theater Arts|access-date=2018-08-15|language=en-US}} He has also performed in plays including Six Degrees of Separation and Thoughts of a Colored Man, as well as starring in several Off-Broadway productions such as Kill Move Paradise at the National Black Theatre in New York.{{Cite web|url=http://events.foxflash.com/files/810feca55b/FXsPose-TCAWinter2018panelbios-update1.pdf|title=FX's Pose - TCA Winter 2018 panel bios|date=2018}} Despite his small screen debut, Swain still gives back to the theater community. In 2018, it was reported that he hosted an impromptu acting workshop at the Forma Arts + Wellness studio in Birmingham.{{Cite news|url=https://www.birminghamtimes.com/2018/07/pose-actor-and-birmingham-native-ryan-jamaal-swain-hosts-pop-up-workshop-in-city/|title="Pose" Actor and Birmingham Native, Ryan Jamaal Swain, hosts Pop-Up workshop in city|date=2018-07-26|work=The Birmingham Times|access-date=2018-08-16|language=en-US}}

In 2017, Swain was cast as Damon Richards in Ryan Murphy's FX television series Pose. The series premiered on June 3, 2018, and attracted critical acclaim.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/pose/s01|title=Pose: Season 1 - Rotten Tomatoes|website=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=July 23, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/tv/pose|title=Pose: Season 1 - Metacritic|website=Metacritic|accessdate=June 21, 2018}} The first season boasted the largest cast of transgender actors ever for a scripted network series,{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/10/pose-ryan-murphy-transgender-cast-fx-series-1202194718/|title=FX's 'Pose': Ryan Murphy Sets Largest Transgender Cast Ever For Scripted Series|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=October 25, 2017|website=Deadline Hollywood|publisher=Penske Media Corporation|location=Los Angeles, California|accessdate=November 16, 2017}} with over 50 transgender characters.{{cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/New-Ryan-Murphy-Musical-Dance-Series-POSE-Gets-Full-Season-Order-20171227|title=New Ryan Murphy Musical Dance Series POSE Gets Full Season Order|date=December 27, 2017|website=BroadwayWorld.com|language=en|accessdate=December 27, 2017}} On July 12, 2018, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second season, which was set to premiere sometime in 2019.{{cite magazine|last1=Otterson|first1=Joe|date=July 12, 2018|title='Pose' Renewed for Season 2 at FX|url=https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/pose-renewed-season-2-fx-1202872217/|magazine=Variety|location=Los Angeles, California|publisher=Penske Media Corporation|accessdate=July 12, 2018}} Due to his Southern background, Swain had never heard of or been exposed to the ball culture depicted in Pose. Swain based his performance on his viewing of the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning during his college years. He also drew upon his experience of moving to New York City with just "50 dollars in his pocket" in order to pursue his dreams.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetelegraph.com/entertainment/the-wrap/article/Pose-Star-Says-Show-Is-Art-Mirroring-13089693.php|title='Pose' Star Says Show Is 'Art Mirroring Reality': 'I Was Broke'|date=2018-07-19|work=Alton Telegraph|access-date=2018-08-16|archive-date=2018-08-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816194656/https://www.thetelegraph.com/entertainment/the-wrap/article/Pose-Star-Says-Show-Is-Art-Mirroring-13089693.php|url-status=dead}} Swain's character returned for the first episode of the third and final season, but was written out for the second half of the episode, which was filmed during Swain's exit from the series due to the death of Swain's real-life sister.{{Cite web|url=https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/what-happens-to-damon-in-pose-season-3-48301591|title = Pose Showrunner Breaks Down Damon's Sudden Exit in the Season 3 Premiere|date = 3 May 2021}}

Swain's first major foray into writing was in 2014 when he wrote and starred in A Negro Writer, a one-man show about the life of American writer Langston Hughes. He announced plans to write a teen fiction book about a Southern teenager.{{Cite news|url=https://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2018/06/alabamas_ryan_jamaal_swain_ear.html|title=Alabama's Ryan Jamaal Swain earning rave reviews for breakout role on 'Pose'|work=AL.com|access-date=2018-08-15|language=en-US}}

Although Swain's family has been largely supportive of his artistic endeavors, he has still experienced his share of adversity. During Swain's childhood, his stepfather became physically and emotionally abusive towards him due to his sexuality.{{Cite news|url=https://nylon.com/articles/ryan-jamaal-swain-pose-interview|title=Ryan Jamaal Swain On How 'Pose' Helped Him Heal From Personal Trauma|date=2018-06-07|work=NYLON|access-date=2018-08-02|language=en}} Swain's sister, Raven Lynette Swain, was shot and killed in Birmingham, Alabama, on July 28, 2020,{{Cite web|url=https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2020/07/pose-actor-mourns-sister-killed-in-birmingham-we-will-have-swift-justice.html|title = 'Pose' actor mourns sister killed in Birmingham: 'We will have swift justice'|date = 30 July 2020}} which precipitated Swain's desire to exit from Pose and his character being written out of the series after the first episode of the third season. Swain identifies as queer.{{cite news |last1=Teeman |first1=Tim |title='Pose' Star Ryan Jamaal Swain on Abuse, Fame, LGBT History, and Defining as 'Queer' |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/pose-star-ryan-jamaal-swain-on-abuse-fame-lgbt-history-and-defining-as-gay|accessdate=December 4, 2018 |work=The Daily Beast |date=December 3, 2018 }}

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Category:African-American male actors

Category:1994 births

Category:Alumni of the British American Drama Academy

Category:American male television actors

Category:American dancers

Category:Dancers from Alabama

Category:African-American LGBTQ people

Category:LGBTQ people from Alabama

Category:Living people

Category:Howard University alumni

Category:Male actors from Birmingham, Alabama

Category:American queer male actors

Category:21st-century African-American people