Ryan Grantham is a Canadian former child actor and voice actor who was convicted of murdering his mother on September 23, 2022.
Wiki/Biography
Ryan Grantham was born in 1998 (age 24 years; as of 2022), and he hails from Squamish, British Columbia, Canada. He attended Simon Fraser University, B.C, Canada.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 10
Hair Colour: Dark Blonde
Eye Colour: Blue
Family
Parents & Siblings
Ryan Grantham’s mother, Barbara Waite. He has a sister, Lisa Grantham.
Ryan Grantham’s mother, Barbara Waite
Wife & Children
As of 2022, he is unmarried.
Career
Television & OTT
Ryan started his acting career with the Canadian TV film The Secret of the Nutcracker (2007) in which he played Billy.
From 2009 to 2010, he played the role of young Arkin, Prince of Eleysia and brother of Riese, in the Canadian science fiction-fantasy miniseries Riese: Kingdom Falling. Other TV series in which he made small appearances include The Guard (2008), The Troop (2009), Some Assembly Required (2014), and Supernatural (in 2008 and 2015). In 2013, he played a lead role, Luke Quinn, in the Canadian TV film The Carpenter’s Miracle. The film follows a small-town carpenter who rises to popularity after resurrecting a dead child but later strives to get back to the life he once had before the miraculous event.
The Carpenter’s Miracle (2013)
Other Canadian television films under his belt include The 12 Disasters of Christmas (2012), Perfect High (2015), and Undercover Cheerleader (2019). In 2019, he gained popularity for appearing in the American horror crime drama Riverdale in which he played Jeffery.
Ryan Grantham as Jeffery in Riverdale (2019)
Film
In 2008, Ryan appeared in an American science fiction action film Jumper in which he played the child version of the protagonist David Rice.
In 2012, he played the lead role, Redwood, in the Canadian film Becoming Redwood. The film bagged numerous awards and Ryan was nominated in the category of Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Feature Length Drama at Leo Awards (2013) and Best Newcomer at UBCP/ACTRA Awards, Vancouver (2013).
In 2016, he starred in the Canadian film ‘Considering Love and Other Magic’ in which the protagonist Tommy. In the film, a troubled teenage girl agrees to tutor a timid boy who insists he hasn’t left his house in more than fifty years.
Ryan Grantham as Tommy Considering Love and Other Magic (2016)
Other films in which he appeared include The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009), Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010), Barricade (2012), and Way of the Wicked (2014).
Short Film
In 2008, he appeared in his first short film titled The Escape of Conrad Lard-Bottom in which he played young Conrad.
The Escape of Conrad Lard-Bottom (2008)
In 2008, he played the role of Sebastian in an independent short film The Anachronism. The short film is about two children who discover the wreck of a giant squid submarine on a beach near their home. Ryan’s performance in the film earned him nominations for Short Drama – Best Performance by a Male at Leo Awards (2009) and Best Performance in a Short Film – Young Actor at Young Artist Awards (2010).
Ryan Grantham (left) as Sebastian in The Anachronism (2008)
In 2011, he starred in the Canadian short film Liz in which he played the role of Kevin, a ten-year-old boy who decides to run away with his best friend, Liz, after learning that will be moving away soon. As the story goes on, Kevin realizes that a life on the run is not what he desires for his girl. The film led Ryan to win Young Artist Award (2012) and VSFF Award (2012).
Ryan Grantham (left) as Kevin in Liz (2011)
Others
He lent his voice to the 2011 American comedy film Marley & Me: The Puppy Years in which he voiced Moose.
The Murder of Barbara Waite
On March 31, 2020, Ryan Grantham shot his mother, Barbara Waite, in the back of her head as she played the piano in their home in Squamish. Apparently, his mother was battling cancer at the time. Grantham recorded a video shortly after that in which he confessed to the murder. Thereafter, he left by car as he intended to assassinate Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He packed a car with three guns, ammunition, and 12 Molotov cocktails he had made and roughly drove 200 kilometers east to the town of Hope towards Trudeau’s Rideau Cottage residence. At some point, he changed his mind and decided he would carry out a mass shooting, possibly at Simon Fraser University, where he had been a student. However, he did not carry out either plan and instead turned himself in to the police on April 1, 2020, in Vancouver, where he confessed to killing his mother. Grantham was immediately taken into custody. Initially, he was charged with first-degree murder, but later, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges.
Trial and Conviction
During the trial, Ryan’s lawyer, Chris Johnson, claimed that Grantham had been suffering from several documented mental health challenges including anxiety, clinical depression, and suicidal thoughts. Johnson also revealed that Grantham rationalized that it was necessary to kill his mother to spare her from dealing with the fallout of the crimes he had planned to commit. On September 23, 2022, Ryan was convicted of murdering his mother at the Supreme Court of British Columbia. He was declared eligible for parole after 14 years during the sentencing proceedings. The court also imposed a lifetime firearm ban on Grantham.
Awards, Honours, Achievements
- Best Performance in a Short Film – Young Actor at Young Artist Awards (2012) for Liz (2011)
- Best Male Actor at Vancouver Short Film Festival (2012) for Liz (2011)
Facts/Trivia
- Ryan Grantham consumed alcoholic beverages and smoked occasionally. He drank beer and smoked marijuana for hours following the murder and then decided to head towards Trudeau’s Rideau Cottage residence.
