Ryan Kelley: Emerging from The Dust Factory

Once in a while, a newcomer really makes an impression. 18-year-old Ryan Kelley is that kind of young actor. The Chicago native was chosen for a part in the Ben Affleck/Matt Damon Project Greenlight film Stolen Summer and was part of a group of kids facing their feelings after getting even with a bully in Mean Creek. Ryan has been in commercials since an early age and also appeared as a guest star in"Smallville" and the TV series "Early Edition".

A couple of years ago, Kelley made a fantasy film called The Dust Factory which co-stars Hayden Panettiere of Racing Stripes and Ice Princess. The imaginative film comes out on DVD March 22nd. As a mute teen faced with family problems, Ryan's character falls from a bridge and emerges in a fantasy world/limbo where he finds other lost souls who must make the decision to live or die. Meeting Melanie (Hayden's character) helps him make his choice.

We were impressed with Ryan's performance and wanted to talk to the young actor who is just starting to emerge as a Hollywood presence. Read on about this cutie's take on working with Hayden, being from a big family, the fact that girls don't scare him, his college plans and hopes for the future.

TeenHollywood: You live in LA now right? You no longer live with tons of brothers and sisters?

Ryan: I still live in Chicago but I'll be moving out here by the end of summer.

TeenHollywood: Can you tell me about what it was like on the set of Dust Factory? Or what you did in your downtime?

Ryan: It was shot in Portland Oregon. We were right in a hotel in Portland so I mean there were little theatres, little shops you could go to. Since we weren't there that long we just did the whole touristy thing. Between time on set I'd just goof around with Hayden.

TeenHollywood: What was the hardest scene for you and what was the most fun?

Ryan: The hardest scene was probably the one where I see my Dad (who has passed on). That was kind of a more emotional scene, and you know just harder to tap into. As for most fun, the whole thing was a blast. It was pretty fun when you see us jumping off the dock for fishing. It was freezing and we could only do it in one take and everybody told us that if we screwed it up we were dead.

TeenHollywood: Do you play hockey? You seemed to skate pretty well.

Ryan: I grew up skating just for fun. I never was a big hockey player, but I'm from Chicago so every time the lake would freeze over I'd skate. I don't play hockey for the most part. I play soccer. But you know I have enough of a sports background that I'm comfortable with just about everything.

TeenHollywood: So how did you get the part for The Dust Factory? Were there a whole lot of auditions?

Ryan: I was fifteen when I was auditioning. I did the first audition and then I went home and they were trying to pair me up with girls, trying to figure out who I'd work with. The only one I didn't get paired up with was Hayden, because I had left right as she was coming into town. So she was actually in Chicago for something and I met her and we put ourselves on tape and sent it to them and I guess they liked that one the best.

TeenHollywood: That's kind of unusual. You're from a big family. What's the coolest thing about a big family and what's the worst?

Ryan: The coolest thing about a big family is that nothing scares me. I mean nine girls, I got every type of girl in my family and I can now meet any girl, any age, any personality and I'm comfortable. Girls don't scare me like that. There's nine girls, six boys. So you've got every type of girl in there. So I've just seen it all. The worst thing about it is, I mean if you're trying to get quiet time sometimes that's basically impossible. I mean there's really nothing I hate about it. When I was a little kid I guess (the hardest thing) was sharing. I'm not so good at sharing as is. I can't imagine what I'd be like if I was an only child.

TeenHollywood: At what point did you make the decision that you wanted to keep acting when you got older?

Ryan: Well I did couple films and television shows but really it was right when I was going into school. Both my parents were like "Alright Ryan, it's up to you to make the decision. Were not going to push you, were not going to give you any attitude anymore, it's completely up to you.' I had just done project Greenlight (Stolen Summer) and you know that peaked my interest and I thought OK, I'll do the TV pilot season. I'd never really gone out to Los Angeles and attacked the whole scene. I went out there and did "Smallville".

TeenHollywood: Who did you play on "Smallville"?

Ryan: I played a kid named Ryan who could read minds basically. It was in the first season and was called "Stray". Then the second season my episode was called "Ryan".

TeenHollywood: Are you thinking about going to college?

Ryan: Definitely. That's something I've got to crunch time for when I get home and figure out. College is in the future. I think my plan is to do two years of community college and cram all my classes into like Tuesday and maybe have a morning Friday class or something then dedicate the rest to acting. Or I could take a year off, or I could do college and just get t done and over with. I don't know. There's just so many possibilities. If I could take a year off but I'm not sure I'd ever go back.

TeenHollywood: Yeah, it's a big decision but you'll work out what's best for you. What kind of music are you into? Who are listening to?

Ryan: I like so much music; from hip-hop to rap to mellow music like Dave Mathews Band. I love a lot of Chicago music so it's kind of hard to say. There's DJ's that do certain things like DJ Infinity but people wouldn't know about that.

TeenHollywood: Where would you go on a first date?

Ryan: It depends on the girl. I'm a big movie fan so I'd like to go see a movie first. If it's in the LA area I'd go to City Walk (at Universal Studios) and maybe go to the shops around there and then go to that sushi restaurant, and the go see a movie.

TeenHollywood: So what would you do in Chicago then?

Ryan: The Navy Pier down in Chicago is another great scene to go to. There's so many shops that you can go there all day and not see them all. It's different; it's kind of like Venice beach but cooler.

TeenHollywood: Great actor Armin Mueller-Stahl plays your grandpa. How was working with him?

Ryan: He was amazing. He was like a teacher in a good way. He wasn't trying to teach me things but just watching him was worth so much. You could just see the experience in him. He's done so many movies I can't even count them. He was nice, he was grounded, he would just crack jokes and he was very funny. I would love to work with him again.

TeenHollywood: Your character is mute for part of the film. How did you act when you couldn't speak? Was it hard to do?

Ryan: Yeah. I thought it was going to be easy, I thought it would be quite simple. But actually it was a lot harder that I thought. It was harder sometimes than regular acting. So much of our expression is through words or with our mouth, so it was weird. There were actually some times where I would mouth "yes" and they'd be like "you can't do that." You just have to think a lot harder.

TeenHollywood: Was it difficult working with the fantasy or CGI elements in the movie?

Ryan: Yeah, we got pulled into that black stuff (long tendrils of black ooze). See, I had no clue how that was going to turn out. So I guess you could say it was kind of hard, cause the director tried to explain it to me. I would get like this puzzled look and he'd be like "just trust me on this one." We just gave him complete trust and it turned out great.

TeenHollywood: Do you believe in like a limbo between life and death?

Ryan: I don't personally believe in a place between life and death. I believe in afterlife in some form or another. I'm at the age where I'm still completely questioning everything, I mean I could wake up tomorrow and believe in that; so I don't know, it changes every day.

TeenHollywood: So did you get the chance to meet Matt Damon or Ben Affleck when you did Stolen Summer?

Ryan: No, they were both filming but towards the end I actually got to meet Matt Damon and he was extremely nice. He was really down to earth and that was a blast talking to him.

TeenHollywood: On Mean Creek, how was it working on a movie like that with a whole bunch of young actors? Was it fun or just too intense?

Ryan: Of course there was a lot of work involved behind it but I mean we played hard too. That was shoot in Oregon too. It was more towards Washington though. It wasn't in the Portland area. We were like in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do. There was a Fred Meyer, which is like the equivalent to a big Save On here; it's like a Target. So we'd just walk around in there and do nothing all day. We all got really close.

TeenHollywood: Do you still talk to some of them?

Ryan: Oh Definitely. Especially at the Independent Spirit Awards.

TeenHollywood: What's next for you that we can look forward too?

Ryan: My biggest concern next is moving out to L.A., getting set up and finding the right balance out here because it's completely different. I think I'm going to have a roommate. I mean I have some friends out here but not that much. Then, from there, it will be just continuing to pursue acting.

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.