Tom Ryan was born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, where he developed a profound passion for horror films from an early age. This fascination led him to create his own backyard VHS films, design a slasher-comic series titled "Midnight", and avidly collect every issue of Fangoria magazine. He pursued his interest in the media arts in college for two years before deciding to drop out and work full-time.
Alongside a group of childhood friends who shared his taste for the macabre, Tom founded an independent production company called "Theatre of Terror", with the mission to produce high-quality, low-budget horror films. Their inaugural short film, "Day 9", was released in January 2013 and secured digital distribution through SHORTS HDTV.
Tom's other passion is music. He has been performing in bands since the age of 17 and is the lead singer and bass player for the band "Vlad the Inhaler". The band released their debut studio album "the Human Infection" in April 2013 and performed at the Macabre Faire Film Festival in June 2013 and Parafest in September 2013. Their second album "The Aftermath" was released in late 2016.
Following the success of "Day 9", Tom began working on his first feature film, "FACES". Filming commenced in late 2013 and wrapped up in August 2014. The film premiered on October 10th at the Landmark Loews theater in Jersey City, attracting an audience of over 250 people. Soon after, it was accepted into several festivals, including the NY Horror Show/Macabre Faire film festival, where it won Audience Choice Best Feature, Best Soundtrack, and a Best Actor Award for Tom, who played the lead character Frank Walker. "FACES" has since secured distribution through Green Apple Entertainment.
In addition to writing and directing, Tom has appeared in several independent projects, including Corrado Gadaleta's Dead Road (web series) as Sniper (episodes 5-8),Theatre of Terror's Day 9 (short film) as Tom, Weber Pictures' Sheriff Tom vs the Zombies (feature) as partygoer, Mark Boutros' The Collectors (short film) as Frank, Devarez Films' Zombie Hunters: City of the Dead (tv series) as FBI Agent O'Malley (episode 10),Weber Pictures' Zombies Incorporated (web series) as Gerald Jones, Weber Pictures' Witches Blood (feature) as Gerald Jones, Bradley Creanzo's Case at Midnight (feature) as Geils Durstein, Theatre of Terror's FACES (feature) as Frank Walker (won Best Actor),Mass Grave Pictures' Theta States (feature) as Danny (won Best Actor),Jeremiah Kipp's Black Wake (feature) as the Fisherman, and New Needle Productions' Good Day (feature) as Eric.
