BROTHERS & SISTERS Have Found Their Ryan!

There’s been much speculation about who would be cast as Ryan Lafferty, the latest sibling to join The Walker clan on BROTHERS & SISTERS.  While some of us secretly dreamed of the role going to Jason Dohring (Veronica Mars, Moonlight) or Gregory Smith (Everwood), it was not meant to be.  The role has been cast and lo and behold a relative newcomer (at least to me) will be joining the fray.

Keep on reading to find out who or stop now to avoid be spoiled.

According to Kristin Dos Santos, Ryan Lafferty will be played by…drumroll please…Luke Grimes.

Here’s what KDS has to say about Luke and how and when the new Walker half brother will be introduced.

Yep, William Walker’s secret son, Ryan Lafferty, arrives later this season, and sources whisper Luke Grimes is in final talks to play the part. Luke’s not a big name, but he definitely looks like he could be a Walker brother, don’t you think?

(Before you run off to IMDB, Grimes has appeared in Assassination of a High School Prseident and All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, and earlier this year he won a Best Supporting Actor Best of the Fest Award at the Breckenridge Festival of Film for his part in War Eagle, Arkansas.)

Now, exactly when does Ryan join the family and what’s in store for this new character and all our old faves? I’ve got the dish…

Insiders tell me that Ryan first appears in episode 14.

As you may remember, when the casting call for this part first went out, the character was described as an all-American kid who once upon a time had dealt drugs but was past that now. We also know that Ryan was raised far from the maddening crowd that is the Walkers—in fact, he doesn’t even know they exist. To top that off, Ryan’s mother is dead, so his one real-life connection to the Walkers is gone. (On the other hand, at least we won’t have put up with another Holly-esque figure complicating matters.)

Now, how does this all go down? Long before we meet Ryan himself, we’ll see Kitty (Calista Flockhart) visit Ryan’s hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., where she’ll start searching for the truth about her new little brother. George Lafferty, the man who raised Ryan as his own, will be played by David Andrews, and he’s both very protective of Ryan and very suspicious of the Walkers’ intentions toward his son.

According to inside sources, producers are hoping to bring Luke on as a regular in season four if the storyline and character work out with fans.

What do you think of this casting choice? Were you hoping for a familiar face or are you excited about someone bringing a fresh perspective to the role? Will Ryan’s adjustment be as easy/difficult as Rebecca’s? I don’t know about you but I’m intrigued to see how this all plays out.