As the youngest son on a famous show biz family, it was expected that hunky Ryan Cassidy would become a star. Now, it's a fact of life.

Ryan portrays Kevin Metcalf in the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life, a character he describes as "an outdoorsy type guy. He's very self-assured. He's warm, he likes people and he's got a very good rapport with the girls."

This could also be a description of Ryan. The 6', 165 lb. Irish lad was born 19 years ago to Shirley Jones and the late Jack Cassidy in Los Angeles, California. His brothers David, Shaun, and Patrick also share the limelight as actor/heartthrobs.

Ryan first aspired to be a policeman. He even went to a police academy when he was around 15 (he said he was older) and worked in a police station. But while a senior at Beverly Hills High School he was bitten by the acting bug. He appeared in a school production of Fiddler on the Roof and forgot about police work. "I really enjoyed getting up and doing the scenes and monologues and improvs. I started getting a feel for it and really liked it."

He made his professional debut in the Lionel Richie video "Penny Lover." Now he's heating up the small screen on The Facts of Life which he loves.

In his leisure hours, Ryan plays volleyball, jogs, and restores classic cars like his own 1929 Model A Ford. As for the future, he wants to do "as much work as I can get my hands on, anything I can do that I can honestly show what I've got." Well Ryan, you've got it all!