Ryan O'Reily is a major character in HBO Prison drama Oz. He is an Irish gangster who will do anything to survive, often lying and manipulating for his own gain. Despite his cruel and manipulative tendencies Ryan loves his brother Cyril though it doesn't stop him from exploiting and taking advantage of him.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Heinous?[]
- Was serially unfaithful to his wife prior to his imprisonment.
- Plotted Dino Ortolani's death with Jefferson Keane in revenge for Dino trying to kill him.
- Betrayed Johnny Post who killed Dino on Jefferson's orders which led to Nino Schibetta having him brutally murdered.
- Set Jefferson up and got him wrongfully executed when Keane became remorseful out of fear Keane would snitch.
- Threatened to kill Tobias Beecher when he wanted to help Keane,
- Betrayed corrupt CO Mike Healy who helped him deal drugs to gain Nino's favor.
- Got the guards to beat Ronald Pokelwaldt up by telling them he ratted out Healy despite being the one who told him to do it.
- Plotted with Simon Adebisi to kill Nino to take over the drug trade by slowly poisoning him, causing him to suffer a slow and painful death.
- Voted in favor of allowing a guard to die during the riot.
- After being diagnosed with breast cancer and falling in love with prison doctor Gloria Nathan he uses Cyril's brain damage to manipulate him into murdering her husband Preston.
- Plotted alongside Beecher and Chris Keller to deliberately manipulate Andrew Schillinger into a drug overdose to get revenge on his father Vern for raping Cyril.
- Makes Cyril compete in the boxing tournament and spikes the other prisoners' drinks to make money gambling which led to Hamid Khan's death.
- Had William Cudney murdered to hide that he was spiking the drinks.
- Killed several inmates alongside Keller to undermine McManus' replacement Martin Querns.
- Uses his sexual relationship with guard Claire Howell to kill Nikolai Stanislofsky to get possesion of a cell phone.
- Tried to convince Keller to kill Beecher after he alluded to the murders they did to undermine Querns.
- Manipulates Omar White into trying to kill Jack Eldridge, a reporter who did a story on him and Cyril years ago.
- Brutally murdered Patrick Keenan for raping Dr . Nathan.
- Is involved in the plot to poison and kill Supreme Allah.
- Manipulates latino leader Enrique Morales into having Glen Shupe's arm cut off for lying to get Cyril into trouble.
- Gets the guards to murder Jia Kenmin by lying to the guards they'd been disrespecting them.
What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]
- He is tragic as he grew up poor with an abusive alcoholic father.
- He genuinely cares for several people.
- Despite the manipulation he loves Cyril, trying to protect him several times such as getting him to punch him to get him away from the Aryan Brotherhood and tried to get Cyril's death sentence appealed.
- Despite the affection being twisted he did have genuine feelings for Gloria as he falsely confessed to orchestrating her rape to give her closure and defended her from Henry Stanton.
- He cares about his mother Suzanne and tries to ensure her safety.
- He's disgusted by William Cudney's murder of a child, Malcolm Coyle killing an entire family and is the only not to laugh when Beecher is forced by Schillinger to wear makeup and perform in the prison talent show, showing he has standards.
- He's horrified by Connolly's plan to bomb the prison and tries to stop him.
- At the end of the series he forgives his father for his abuse and reconciles with him.
- Comes to respect Father Meehan for trying to get Cyril's death sentence overturned and is saddened by his death.
- Like all the inmates in Em City he helps raise money for Bob Rebadow's grandson to Disney World.
External Links[]
- Ryan O'Reily on the Villains Wiki
- Ryan O'Reily on the Heroes Wiki
- Ryan O'Reily on the Oz Wiki