Captain Awesome's humble beginnings in Glen Ellyn
You know the nice-looking teenage boy from Glen Ellyn who rang your doorbell in the early 1990s and tried to sell you a Daily Herald subscription?
Well, he grew up to be an Abercrombie & Fitch model, a soap opera star and Captain Awesome on NBC's series "Chuck."
Ryan McPartlin said he has fond memories of his door-to-door newspaper salesman days in DuPage, where he was a star football player at Glenbard South High School.
But now McPartlin, 36, belongs to a large group of suburban-born Hollywood stars.
When he sees fellow suburban natives like Jim Belushi, Gary Cole or Gary Sinise on the red carpet or at other Hollywood events, McPartlin said they start talking about the suburbs.
"There's that immediate connection. You start talking about Portillo's," he said. "I saw Sean Hayes in New York recently, and I said, 'Hey! The other pride of Glen Ellyn! What's goin' on?'"
McPartlin is a busy actor and model, best known for his role as Devon "Captain Awesome" Woodcomb on the action-comedy "Chuck." McPartlin plays the title character's brother-in-law, a doctor who earned his nickname from frequent use of the word "awesome." (The fifth and final season premieres Oct. 21.)
He'll also star in the NBC family movie, "Game Time," which airs Sept. 3.
"I get recognized for being Captain Awesome more than anything else," McPartlin said. "'Chuck' has been such a lovefest from fans and my audience. It's been great."
Acting wasn't always on his radar. His light bulb moment came when he was 9,000 miles away from Glen Ellyn - in Australia.
McPartlin was there as a college exchange student. During a long bus trip, he started thinking about what he was going to do with his life after college. He had successfully sold life insurance in the University of Illinois' college agent program, but knew that wasn't his true calling.
"I thought, if I could do anything in the world, what would I be? I thought, being an actor sounds pretty cool. I wonder how you go about doing it?" he said. "It was strange because I'd never been in a theater program before."
McPartlin finished up his speech communications degree and spent the summer of 1998 bartending at Salerno's Pizza in St. Charles until he could afford to move to California and enroll in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena.
"Of course, my dad thought I was a little crazy. He said, 'Hey, do whatever you want, you just have to pay for it,'" McPartlin recalled. "He knew we (Ryan and his three siblings) would excel in what we enjoy doing."
During his first year and a half in Hollywood, McPartlin paid his dues. He rented a dingy apartment, bought an old car and waited tables while he went on auditions. He spent his free time surfing in the ocean and working out at the gym, becoming a certified personal trainer and occasionally landing small modeling and acting jobs.
"The first year makes or breaks most people in L.A.," McPartlin said. "I had a tougher time finding a job as a waiter or bartender than an agent. Every time I was rejected, I had to learn from it and think, 'OK, where do I fit in?'"
His star began to rise following a modeling job with Abercrombie & Fitch. He was featured shirtless in ads that showed off his abs and the A&F jeans - not that anyone was looking at the jeans.
Even though it was a coveted modeling job, his father, Stephen McPartlin, said Ryan didn't make much money from it - just a few months of living expenses. But he continued to support his son's efforts to be an actor.
"I didn't think he'd be (in California) long," his dad said, laughing. "He'd never been in a high school play. He'd never had an acting class. I figured he didn't realize how tough it was out there. But he's a risk taker. He's a gregarious person and makes friends."
McPartlin's first big break came when he landed a job on the soap opera "Passions" as the hunky, world-traveling Hank Bennett. McPartlin was hesitant to take the job at first, because he wasn't interested in being a soap actor. But he was getting married and in need of steady work.
It turned out to be a good move. That gig led to others, including a co-starring role in 2005 as Fran Drescher's young boyfriend on "Living with Fran," the voice of Clutch Powers in the 4-D LEGO movie that many suburban parents saw at LEGOLAND and small parts on TV shows like "Mad Men," "CSI: NY" and "Friends with Benefits" before landing his Captain Awesome role.
Now living in Los Angeles with his wife and two children, ages 4 and 2, McPartlin returns to Glen Ellyn often and regularly reunites with his old Glenbard South friends.
"He's very well-grounded. And when he comes home, if he's not, his brothers and sister ground him real fast. It doesn't take long," his father, Stephen, said. "He loves the Midwest ... and we're very proud of him."
Ÿ<I> Dann Gire and Jamie Sotonoff are always looking for suburban people in showbiz. If you know of someone, send a note to dgire@dailyherald.com and jsotonoff@dailyherald.com.</I>
Where you've seen (or heard) him
Ÿ Plays Devon “Captain Awesome” Woodcomb on “Chuck”
Ÿ Leading man in Sugarland's “Stuck Like Glue” music video
Ÿ Played Hank Bennett on the soap opera “Passions”
Ÿ Will be featured in the October 2011 issue of Men's Fitness magazine
Ÿ Was the voice of Clutch Powers in the 4-D movie, “LEGO: The Adventures of Clutch Powers”
Ÿ Played Riley Martin, Fran Drescher's much-younger boyfriend, on the sitcom “Living with Fran”