Andrew Liner is popping onto many Netflix subscribers' radar after his appearance in the streamer's new Ransom Canyon series.
In the series, Liner plays Reid Collins, the confident young nephew of Josh Duhamel's Staten Kirkland and heir to the Kirkland Ranch.
Biography Details on Andrew Liner from Ransom Canyon (Filmography & More)
Andrew Liner Got Into Acting Through a Crush
Andrew Liner did not always want to act, but thanks to a crush in his younger days, he found the craft and fell head over heels.
In a conversation with Actors With Issues promoting his appearance in Ransom Canyon, Liner revealed that he was a "shyer kid" and never thought acting would be something he would enjoy:
"I was kind of a shyer kid. I always played sports. I wasn't a child actor or anything like that. Performing arts was a mandatory class in middle and elementary school, so that was kind of my shoe-in."
However, it was after "chasing a girl into a musical" that he fell in love with performing:
"Classic like chasing a girl into a musical. Then I kind of caught the bug for it."
In his early days, Liner had the chance to play his grandfather in a production he helped create; however, he never got to show his grandad his hard work. "Before he got to see it, he passed away," Liner noted, saying that production was one of the small things that pushed him toward acting as a career:
"Before he got to see it, he passed away. There were a lot of weird little things like that kind of pushed me in the direction of what I'm doing now. Once you get to know me, I have a lot of energy. It's just about comfortability. Once I’m comfortable, I’m too much."
Talking to Amsterdam News, Liner further described this initial love story that led him to the theater, saying he and the girl he pursued ended up "in a loving two-year relationship:"
"I chased a girl I had a crush on into a class where we had to do the musical 'Once Upon A Mattress' and we ended up in a loving two-year relationship. I realized that it wasn't just standing and saying words. I was trying to have a dialogue. I realized I like doing this- finding the reality, the truth, and the person behind everything."
Another production the 24-year-old (born October 7, 2000) got to be a part of in high school was the beloved jukebox musical Mamma Mia, which he has harkened back to several times while reminiscing on social media:
"Thank you to my team can’t believe how far we've come, from my highschool production of 'Mamma Mia'..."
Andrew Grew up in Los Angeles
It is honestly surprising that acting was not initially on Andrew Liner's radar, considering where he grew up.
Liner is a born and bred Angelino, born in Beverly Hills, California, and grew up in various neighborhoods around the Los Angeles area.
The Netflix star was initially a jock in school, playing all sorts of sports across Tinseltown. Liner has talked plenty about his life growing up in LA, positing that his parents "were very focused on us having all the opportunities we could have," leading him to "[play] everything under the sun" (via Amsterdam News):
"I got to play a bunch of different sports. My parents were very focused on us having all the opportunities we could have. I played everything under the sun pretty much, and all year around. I was never inside playing video games. That just wasn’t my childhood."
After high school, Liner attended Chapman University in Orange, California, where he explored acting as a potential career. At Chapman, the Ransom Canyon actor started writing, directing, and performing on the stage and screen.
"I never wanted to be just an actor, just a pawn in someone else’s game. I have stories to tell," Liner remarked, saying that jumping into writing and directing as well as acting was him going, "I’ll go do it myself:"
"I never wanted to be just an actor, just a pawn in someone else's game. I have stories to tell. I'm adopted and I’m mixed and I’m Jewish, and there's a lot of things about me that I think many people sympathize with. But if the industry is not going to give me anything, am I just going to sit here waiting? No, I'll go do it myself."
Andrew Was Almost Cast in the Colin Kaepernick Series
Before appearing in Ransom Canyon, Andrew Liner took roles in titles such as Bang Bang, Vampire Academy, and Gray Matter. He was even (at one point) in contention to play a big part in the recent Colin Kaepernick series, Colin in Black and White.
Liner revealed in his conversation with Amsterdam News that he "got pretty close" to being cast in the Kaepernick show but ultimately missed out on the role after a poor connection over a remote audition:
"I got pretty close. I played football in high school, and Kaepernick was one of my favorite quarterbacks. I met Ava DuVernay over Zoom, but my connection kept cutting out. It was awful. There are a million stories like that."
Liner has 12 credits to his name, with his breakout coming in 2020, when he played Sky's love interest, Rodney, in Grown-ish Season 3.
Andrew Wants To Create His Own Projects
Andrew Liner wants to create some of his own projects going forward, hoping to write and direct in addition to acting.
In a November 2024 interview with Pop Culturalist, Liner said that writing has been a "big focus" of his, calling his efforts so far a "rewarding process:"
"I also write and want to create my own projects. That’s been a big focus of mine lately—writing and developing things for myself. A lot of the time, I haven’t seen something that feels like it was made for me, so I figure, why not create it myself? It’s been a rewarding process."
He divulged that he hopes to "sink [his] teeth into playing vulnerable, real people" and is "looking for roles that feel grounded and real:"
"In terms of roles, I’d love to sink my teeth into playing vulnerable, real people—characters where you’re not quite sure if they’re good or bad. I’m drawn to that ambiguity, that gray area. I also enjoy exploring characters who are either completely different from me or really close to who I am. At the end of the day, I’m looking for roles that feel grounded and real."
As for what he has in the works on the writing/directing front, Liner told Actors With Issues that he is "writing a show and two films right now."
Andrew Will Next Star in The Wayfinders
Andrew Liner will next star in The Wayfinders, an upcoming sci-fi series following three high schoolers who are mysteriously transported back in time to the era of knights and castles.
Liner will play one of the show's central time-traveling teens who becomes involved in a medieval civil war. The show's pilot was originally filmed in October 2023 (via Irish Examiner, and it is set for release on April 28.
How To Follow Andrew Liner Online
Fans looking to follow Andrew Liner online can find him on Instagram.
The Western romantic drama follows a small community (from which the series takes its name) in the Wild West and the romance between a hardened rancher and the owner of the local dancehall—think Netflix's hit Virgin River series, but with cowboys.
Read more about other big-name series coming to Netflix this year.
