Ryan Foster
Fancast: William Gao
Date of Birth:
April 2nd, 2001
Profile written/edited with the asssistance of AI (learn more about this in our AI statement)
A Bit About Ryan
A 25-year-old Chinese-British man raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Ryan is the only child of George Foster, a British man, and Faye Foster, who moved to the UK from Hong Kong in the late 1990s following the Handover.
Ryan currently works at the Stratford-upon-Avon branch of Reds as a Kitchen Assistant, working alongside his best friend and Head Chef, Chaz Harrison. Although Ryan enjoys his job and has formed close friendships with many of his co-workers, he dreams of one day leaving Reds behind and opening a restaurant of his own.
Ryan is a warm, somewhat reserved and quietly ambitious young man who often finds himself caught between the life he currently has and the future he wants. He has strong relationships with his fellow Reds employees and develops a particularly noticeable crush on his colleague, Chloe Parker.
Outside of work, Ryan has a passion for Hong Kong cinema, particularly the films of Wong Kar-wai, and is an avid listener of indie rock, with The Strokes among his favourite bands. His interests reflect both sides of his identity and give him an appreciation for the culture his mother grew up with, while also grounding him firmly in the British environment he was raised in.
Casting
If Order Up! were ever adapted for television, William Gao would be the first and only choice for Ryan Foster.
Best known for playing Tao Xu in Heartstopper, Gao possesses many of the qualities that make Ryan work as a protagonist. Like Tao, Ryan is loyal, emotionally sensitive and occasionally awkward, but has a strong sense of identity beneath his more reserved exterior.
Gao also brings a natural understated presence that could allow Ryan to develop the quiet charisma that defines the character. There is a subtle Tony Leung-inspired quality to the way Ryan is envisioned — particularly in his quieter, more introspective moments — and Gao has the presence to bring that influence to life without turning Ryan into a direct imitation.
Most importantly, Gao could make Ryan feel like someone audiences genuinely want to follow. As the central character of Order Up!, Ryan needs to be capable of carrying both the comedy and the more emotional aspects of the series, while allowing the ensemble around him to shine.
Personally I feel William Gao is capable of doing exactly that.