Not fit to play O'reily in OZ

Dean is hot!! :)

It's hard for me to defend the writing and storyline direction of Season 5. That's when OZ really started going downhill. The overall quality wasn't there compared to the earlier seasons. I was not a fan of the "redemption" of Ryan arc. There were things his character did that didn't make any sense.

I think Dean owns this character. Ryan is cocky, selfish and manipulative. He can turn on the charm when he needs something. He plays everyone against each other. I don't know what you mean when you say he has a "monotone" voice. I love his voice, very sexy. Especially when he whispers, whether threatening to kill his father or asking Gloria to help him escape. Ryan had a few outbursts of violence but he usually kept his emotions under control. He was always waiting for the opportunity for revenge, to set someone up. So his character wasn't "flashy" or overly emotional. He's mostly sinister and patient. As an actor, he did what he could with the material.

His best "emotional" work is in Season 6.

I'm shocked to see this post!
He was my favorite character. He was perfect as the previous poster said at being sinister, manipulative, and overall one badass.
Every line and his personal story lines he delivered in the true OZ way: dirty and sly. He was amazing! He was actually the reason I got into this (best ever!) show - after watching one of his scenes while flipping through the channels, I came upon O'reily battling with cancer, and was hooked immediately, on him and show. Dean was that gripping.
Just watching him turn on his charm trying to look out for number 1, himself, and all the while smirking devilishly---PERFECTION.
It's been a while since I saw the entire show, so unfortunately I can't offer any particulars as to why he was so perfect, but this has to be said: Dean is hot! and even hotter as O'reily. Sorry has to be mentioned and re-mentioned.
And just a friendly suggestion: try checking him out in "Rescue Me" and "30 Rock" he's incredible, especially in the latter.



Life is too short to spend it with people "who annoy you"-Red Foreman

Yeah man thats your opinion. The writers and directers of Oz obviously disagree with you. I too think noone could have played O'reily better then Winters. He's not a perfect actor, but theres something about him thats compelling. Don't know actually what it is, (his voice, the way he moves, face expressions, etc) but I find him very entertaining to watch.

"O'reily isnt really essential to the series, on the contrary..."

Haha, dude, have you been watching the right show? One of the main ideas explored throughout Oz was survival of the fittest. Those who can adapt, form alliances and play on others for their own well being- was favoured over physical strength and gang affliction. Ryan O'reily thus captured Oz true sense of individuality.

His bad boy looks and Irish hot head thing tottalley worked for me. He sold that character. Someone said it best on the Oz message board not too long ago- Dean Winters IS Ryan O'reily. If you want to see him at his best I'd reccomend Season 2 and 6 of Oz or watch Rescue me. If you still can't see his talent then, it just comes down to personal preferance.

Come on boys. Be all that you can be.

I agree .The main focus of the show was surviving in prison and Ryan " altough not the toughest (body ,looks,muscle) or hardest was the ultimate survivor.His manipulative games were amongst the greatest scenes i've seen and yet he keeped a kind of dignity because all he wanted to do is stay alive.
And to be a favourite character in a show were you probably have the most number of great characters is quit a acomplisment.I agree that when he sometimes had to spew important lines where he had act hurt or mad Dean didn't always click it but i also think it was forced on a character who never let's his emotions take over.

um, are you sure you're watching the correct character? Ryan O'Reily is an EXTREMELY integral part of the show for nearly its entire run. He and all the numerous facets of his life make up huge portions of the show. The character is a catalyst for an incomprehensable amount of action.

I've never thought Dean Winters to be a terribly good actor, but a lot of the acting on Oz is pretty questionable, but I certainly never thought Dean/Ryan "brought the whole series down" in any way. I think Dean's sly voice and his ability to be a pure evil character with his innocent face worked very well for Ryan O'Reily.

I don't know how you can possibly have watched the show in its entirety and not understand the importance of Ryan O'Reily.

Whoever started this thread talking about Dean Winters is not fit to play O'Reilly on OZ is full of *beep* You don't know good actors when you see them. Dean Winters is one of the writers for the show. He helped create most of those other characters. You need to stop hating and get a life, *beep*

Actually, it's Dean's brother who was a writer of the series - I'm not sure tho if Dean actually helped with that :)

I also think O'Reily was one of the most important and interesting characters in the series. While everyone else had their own strenghts in surviving and taking control of things, he actually had control over almost every single prisoner he came across with without them even realizing it.

And the acting suited that character perfectly!

www.deanwinters.net

I thought he did a great job in Oz, I don't think I would have liked anyone else to play the part of O'Reily

Sam: hey, about before, sorry.
Dean: no chick-flick moments.
Sam: fine, Jerk.
Dean: Bitch.