Jack Ryan (character)

John Patrick Ryan Sr. KCVO (Hon.), nicknamed Jack, is a fictional character created by author Tom Clancy and featured in his novels, which have consistently topped the New York Times bestseller list. Since Clancy's death in 2013, a series of authors have continued writing novels for the Ryanverse franchise with approval from the Clancy family estate.

The son of a Baltimore police detective and a nurse, Ryan is a former U.S. Marine lieutenant and stockbroker who becomes a civilian history professor at the United States Naval Academy (USNA). Ryan works with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) initially as a MITRE contractor before becoming an analyst and occasional field officer, eventually leading it as Deputy Director. After retiring from the CIA, Ryan later served as National Security Advisor and Vice President before suddenly becoming President of the United States following a terrorist attack on the United States Capitol. Ryan went on to serve two non-consecutive terms and mostly dealt with international crises in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Clancy told Robert Gates that "You know, for the first several novels, I pretty much modeled Ryan’s career on yours."

Jack Ryan has been portrayed in adaptations by actors Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, Chris Pine, and John Krasinski. The film series from 1990 to 2014 have an unadjusted worldwide gross revenue of $788.4 million to date, making it the 57th-highest-grossing film series. The Amazon Prime Video series ran from 2018 to 2023.