He's just 19, but Ryan Merriman is no Hollywood rookie. Consider this cutie's collection of credits: He has played Michelle Pfeiffer's kidnapped son in The Deep End of the Ocean; the younger version of Michael T. Weiss in The Pretender; and a classic slasher's prey in this summer's Halloween: Resurrection.
Early next year, look for Merriman to star in ABC's new action series, Veritas. "I'm Nikko, the lead," he tells TV Guide Online. "It revolves around the Veritas team, which is my father's archeological organization that goes around the world discovering the truth — which is what 'veritas' means in Latin. They uncover ancient artifacts, dig sites and findings like that. It's this wild, crazy ride."
Natch, this looker of a lad gets himself a lady — though he's not permitted to kiss her. "Cobie Smulders plays Juliet, my love interest/tutor," Merriman grins. "She's 25, so she's a little bit older. She's supposed to be the star I can't reach... the girl that's out of my grasp."
Shot in Montreal, Canada, Veritas sounds rather like Sean Patrick Flanery's stint as ABC's Young Indiana Jones. Can Merriman crack a whip as well? "I'm kind of the bad boy," he says of his character. "I've gotten kicked out of three prep schools in a year, so my dad says, 'You're coming to Paris with me and I'm going to administer your studies myself.' It starts out as more of a punishment, but it ends up being cool because Juliet's gorgeous."
