Elizabeth Pettey Photography
Ryan Buggle from the longest running TV series, Law and Order: SVU on NBC. Ryan, a 13 year old superstar is best known for playing the role of Noah Benson, the son of the iconic Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). In the 24th season, Ryan is being challenged with many different topics of conversation and he is more excited than ever about his role. As his character grows up and is getting more experiences, Ryan is loving the challenges they are giving him. During this season fans should anticipate seeing some of the most gut-wrenching cases and some storylines inspired by real-life events, including some dramatic moments with Ryan. One of the turning points in the midseason premiere for Noah was the interaction with his mom, Olivia. In a deep, yet emotional conversation, Noah revealed that his bully, Hudson, was bullying kids who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community and following the revelation to his mom, Noah’s character comes out as a bi-sexual kid. Noah put himself out there as a young, but notable bisexual TV character, highlighting the LGTQ+ youth and attempts to come to terms with his character’s sexuality. This opportunity for Ryan character was something he was ready to take on, he had to prepare for fully, especially with his TV mom. A lot of conversations, knowledge and discussions were all at the forefront for Ryan. On top of this, Ryan will have a handful of other challenging storylines coming from this new season, new episodes are airing throughout the new year of 2024 on Thursdays, 9 pm.
How does it feel to be sure of an iconic show?
I pinch myself every single day! I'm surrounded by all of these amazing actors, directors/producers, writers and an amazing behind the scenes crew. It's a masterclass every time I go to work, I’m really grateful to be a part of something so incredible!
From what I know, I think I'm the youngest character to appear the most on this series, especially as a recurring role. We have had many younger actors on the series, from example, the twins that play "Jessie Rollins" are so adorable.
"A Trauma in a Pear Tree” has to be my favorite episode to film so far! I shot an entire episode of TV with my best friend in real life, Tre Ryder. In the episode, we played long lost brothers who connect, It doesn't get any better than that if you ask me.
It really depends on the episode and where we are filming. It's always so funny just filming on the streets of NYC with Mariska. People will literally just come up to her during a scene and she can go from Mariska to Olivia in about a blink of an eye. For Noah, I'm used to his tone, how he speaks, how he reacts to things so its getting easier for me to get into character now.
It's a cliche one, just don't give up! I’ve heard and still hear the word “no" so many times, more than I would like to, especially when it comes to auditions. I take it with positivity and act like every audition is an acting class. It’s the saying, you hear 100 “No’s” until you get that one “yes!."
There aren't many kids on set, which can be a bummer, but my best friend is AD Nico Nepola- he's an amazing director too. I worked on his film Lucky Penny and he is one of the best guys, super cool and he has always made me feel like a professional since I started on SVU. Sometimes when your a kid working in tv the adults around you don't take into account that you're also a working professional with opinions! Nico is the best.
We are still actively filming SVU so finding extra time to shoot something else is a bit difficult, but I’m still auditioning! Stay tuned...
Dance, music, and the people around me. I started directing my own little short films based on my life. These are very low budget projects and my family of actors are helping and supporting these projects. They are the real MVP’s in my life.
My family keeps me really humble, mostly with humor. We’re all a little sarcastic, which is the best! If I'm going to a red carpet or something they are more than happy to give me a healthy dose of roasting before I go. Time off is spent surviving online 8th grade and playing guitar, doing anything outside I love skateboarding and surfing and watching tons of Netflix.
I'm finally old enough to actually look at my social media and I’m trying to get better at responding now. I do have Twitter, Instagram and I think Facebook!
I really am mostly active on Instagram which is @ryanbuggle and I do the read the comments! I want to start making reels and tik toks but I'm still trying to convince my family
