Ryan Jamaal Swain

Ryan Jamaal Swain was born on March 13, 1994, in Orlando, Florida, and grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, as the eldest of four children. From a young age, Swain demonstrated a passion for the arts, beginning tap dancing lessons at four and expanding his repertoire to include ballet, jazz, modern, and hip-hop. He trained at various local institutions such as the Alabama Dance Academy and the Alabama Ballet. Swain also engaged in catalog modeling from the age of eight. His formal acting career began in high school at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. He furthered his education by earning a B.F.A. from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and studying at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, U.K. After completing his studies, he relocated to New York City to pursue his career.

In 2017, Swain secured the role of Damon Richards in Ryan Murphy’s FX series Pose, which premiered on June 3, 2018. The series garnered significant critical acclaim, showcasing the ball culture of New York City in the 1980s. Swain’s character, Damon, a gay dancer, was central to the narrative, providing an opportunity for Swain to portray a character experiencing new beginnings and challenges. His performance was informed by his earlier viewing of the 1990 documentary “Paris is Burning” during his college years, which provided insight into the culture depicted in the series. He also drew on his personal experience of moving to New York City with limited resources to pursue his acting dreams.

Beyond his television work, Swain has a background in theater, with performances in Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. Notably, in 2019, he joined the cast of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s “Choir Boy,” covering the lead role of Pharus. His stage credits also include “Six Degrees of Separation,” “Thoughts of a Colored Man,” and “Spring Awakening.” As a writer, Swain wrote and starred in “A Negro Writer” in 2014, a one-man show about Langston Hughes. He is also actively working on a semi-autobiographical young adult book and is a vocal advocate for civil and queer rights. He hosted an impromptu acting workshop at the Forma Arts + Wellness studio in Birmingham in 2018.