Born in Sacramento, CA, the only child of Tom and Sharon Nicolls, Ryan discovered his passion for storytelling at Casa Roble High School in his sophomore year in a production of Agatha Christie's "Murder at the Vicarage". He attended American River College as an Applied Physics major before finishing with a B.A. in Theater and Dance at California State University, Fullerton.

Ryan relocated from Los Angeles to New York City in 2010 where he studied at the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater before attending Columbia University, where he received his MFA in acting.