Ryan Dawn

Ryan is one of the main protagonists of the Rise of the Dead Saga. He is portrayed by Ryan Woods in Rise of the Dead and Rise of the Dead 2: Apocalypse, in which he is a major character. He also appears in The Rise of the Dead and Rise of the Dead: The Undead Heart in cameo roles. He is currently a Half-zombie as of 2026.

Personality
Ryan was very loyal to the cause of zombie fighting. He would constantly be reminding his friends of their mission and helped to motivate the team. Endgame describes Ryan as having a coldness to his eyes in the ordeal following the events of their first two films. He was also quite brave - as shown by his lack of fear in the face of his turning into a zombie.

Background
Ryan was childhood friends with Jack Bevan and John Theodore. He is the younger brother of Alyssa Dawn. He grew up with her in New Jersey, before Alyssa went away to school in New York. The last contact between the two came when Alyssa informed him that she was evacuating with her girlfriend. He was just twelve years old when the apocalypse began. He his next plan was to recruit his friend Jack to find a Safe house. Jack took some convincing as he was unaware of the impending apocalypse. After packing and being attacked by a pair of Zombies, the two set out on their mission.

The pair were soon attacked by more zombies, which Jack obliterated with gasoline much to Ryan's frustration. He later persuaded Jack to assist him in robbing a grocery store, which Jack was initially reluctant to do. The two walked and encountered more zombies in the following days.

Eventually, they met their other friend John Theodore and he joined their team. After taking residence in a house for the night, they were abducted by Arthur Bainsmond and his cult. The three promptly escaped the next day and continued their mission to the safe house. They were later attacked by Arthur's second-in-command, Jay Gordon, which they escaped from. After stealing his car, they arrived at the safe house and fought to get in. John was recaptured by Bainsmond and it was up to Ryan to drag Jack's unconscious body into the house. The next day, Ryan and Jack fought off zombies that attacked the house.

Three months later, Ryan celebrated his birthday with Jack - and encouraged his friend to embrace the fight against the zombies. The two then discovered a video where George Gutter sent out a call for help for the zombie antidote to be retrieved, and the two set out on a quest to find it after the house was attacked by zombies once more.

The two had several misadventures the next few days, including a run-in with Jay Gordon. Eventually, they would be recaptured by the community and be reunited with John there, and the three escaped together. Their victory was short-lived, as Gordon detonated a bridge the three drove on and they believed John to be dead once more. Ryan wandered off from the duo's campsite and was nearly bitten by a zombie there. The next day, they robbed another grocery store and found John once more. That night, Ryan saved Jack from an attack by one of Arthur's cultists.

The trio finally arrived at Gutter's apartment, and after a lengthy battle (and a final confrontation with Gordon), they recovered the antidote. Ryan's sister Alyssa was one of the zombies at the battle, and following the battle he wanted to use the antidote to cure her. Jack and John refused to let Ryan give away the antidote as they wanted to mass produce it.

The three travelled together for the next three years. On Christmas Eve, 2016, Ryan was bitten by the zombie of Kayla McIntyre. As is normal when a zombie bites a human, their minds were temporarily linked before Kayla was decapitated by Jack. This brief connection allowed Ryan to realize that the undead were not fully and truly gone, and felt peace as the virus overtook him. The loss of Ryan drove Jack and John apart, as Jack wanted to use the antidote to cure him and Ryan refused.

On May 24, 2019 - one day after Annika Chardee sacrificed herself to give the antidote to Alyssa - the newly cured woman was reunited with her brother, as he wandered to the safe house. Knowing that he could not harm her, Alyssa gave her brother a container of honey to sustain him.

By May of 2021, Ryan was traveling in a pack of zombies, which included Graham Anderson and two others. They chased Jack into the Safe house, where Alyssa was currently living. Ryan was about to attack Jack, but Alyssa intervened. Her touch - full of the zombie antidote - brought awareness and calm back to Ryan, and he eventually evolved into a Half-zombie.

He was last seen sometime after we was cured helping another half-zombie (who coincidentally was part of his former hunting pack) learn to walk again. He then shared a moment with his friend Jack, once again happy.

Canon Film

 * Rise of the Dead
 * Rise of the Dead 2: Apocalypse
 * The Rise of the Dead
 * Rise of the Dead: The Undead Heart

Other Media

 * Endgame

Non-Canon

 * Rise of the Dead 2 1/2: A Very Zombie Christmas
 * Rise of the Dead 3: Endgame