Ryan Stiles is an American actor and comedian. He was born April 22, 1959 in Seattle, Washington, the youngest of five children. When Ryan was ten, his Canadian-born parents moved the family to Richmond, British Columbia. At the age of 17, he dropped out of high school to pursue a career in comedy, working in his father's fish-processing plant to earn a living while doing stand-up in Vancouver-area night clubs. In 1986, Stiles auditioned for and got a stint with Toronto's renowned Second City comedy ensemble. By 1990, he had gained the attention of the producers of the British improvisational comedy show, Whose Line Is It Anyway Stiles was a regular on the show until 1995, and the show's short production season allowed him to make numerous television and motion picture appearances in the United States as well.

In 1995, Stiles was tapped by American comic Drew Carey to be a regular on his situation comedy, The Drew Carey Show. Stiles and Carey continued work on the comedy even as they brought Whose Line Is It Anyway? (now out of production) to American television, with Carey as the new host. Both men appeared weekly on the program as well as being its executive producers.

In 2002, Stiles and Sean Masterson (formerly of the British Whose Line...) finished work on a screenplay, Live Bait, which was reported to have been picked up for production and release in late 2003.

Ryan Stiles is married and has two children.