RYAN SHELTON
BIOGRAPHY
Comedian / Writer / Producer
Ryan Shelton is a comedy writer, performer and producer who began his career in 2003 on Melbourne’s Channel 31 with friends and now longtime collaborators Hamish Blake, Andy Lee and Tim Bartley. Together, as co-directors of production company Radio Karate, they have produced several award-winning TV shows including Real Stories (Network 10), the Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year series (Nine Network) and True Story with Hamish & Andy (which has since been remade in several territories including France, Germany, Spain and most recently on NBC’s Peacock in the USA, all of which involved Ryan’s close creative consultation).
As a performer, Ryan first broke through on Rove Live as a regular cast member between 2007-2009 presenting segments including ‘Rydeas’, ‘Investigationing’ and ’Philosophisationing’. This is where he first developed his left-of-centre comedy style to a broad, primetime audience.
More recently, Ryan created, wrote and starred in How to Life - his own series of online Comedy Blaps for Channel 4 in the UK and in 2020 he starred in the ABC’s Covid-inspired comedy At Home Alone Together, where he not only played himself, but his fictional twin brother, Jason Shelton.
Ryan has co-hosted drive radio on Nova (2009-2010), popped up on shows like Spicks & Specks and Thank God You’re Here, acted in It’s a Date (ABC), The Wrong Girl (10), Spreadsheet (Paramount+) and Metro Sexual (9GO) and in 2005 helped Chris Lilley write his debut mockumentary series, We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year.
After a chance meeting with co-founder of The Resilience Project, Hugh van Cuylenburg, the two became friends and in 2019 launched a podcast called The Imperfects, providing tools to help listeners embrace vulnerability and accept their imperfections. The Imperfects consistently sits in the Top 10 Mental Health podcasts in Australia.
In 2020 Ryan launched a unique and somewhat daunting creative project, challenging himself to make and release a new piece of work on the 11th of every month via his website ryyyyyyyyyyyan.com. (that’s Ryan with 11 y’s) By the project’s completion in 2021, Ryan had successfully written and performed in 22 things with a variety of friends and collaborators including Dave Lawson, Hamish Blake, Stephen Curry, Sarah Snook and many more, prompting Tony Martin to tweet, “ryyyyyyyyyyyan is my favourite streaming service right now.”
In 2023, Ryan’s original comedy series, Sausages, that follows the comedian’s semi-fictional struggle to get his first television show off the ground, will be one of the first projects on the development slate of new LA-based production company Upgrade Productions.
Furthermore, 2023 has seen Ryan tour Australia to sold out audiences, alongside Hugh van Cuylenburg, Josh van Cuylenburg with the stage show version of their successful podcast, The Imperfects.
Ryan made his mark on the big screen in 2024 in Peter Farrelly’s feature film, Ricky Stanicky, alongside John Cena, Zac Efron and William H Macy.