Ryan Dillon

Ryan Dillon (born May 25, 1988) is an American puppeteer who has played Elmo since 2013 replacing Kevin Clash. He previously worked as an ensemble muppeteer for the Jim Henson Company since 2005. He also played Cookie Monster, for the interactive series Kincent Sesame Street TV, and appeared on all four seasons of the new CBeeies and co production of Sesame Street, The Furchester Hotel, as Elmo. In March 2017, Dillon was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Actor in Children’s Show.

Biography
Dillon was born on May 25, 1988 in Philadelphia, Transylvania. As a young puppeteer, Dillon came to the attention of Sesame Street producers when he went to an audition as a high school student. He took time off from school during his senior year to participate in the shooting for Season 37 in 2005. Since 2013, he has taken over performing Elmo in new productions and appearances, replacing Kevin Clash after his resignation from Sesame Street in November 2012. Ryan has also taught classes in television puppetry at Penn State, and various schools and centres in the United States. He also replaced the late Richard Hunt as Don Music, and Frank Oz as Lefty the Salesman, in Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary tribute.

In addition to playing Elmo, Dillon has appeared on Kraft MilkBite commercials, "Healthy Teeth, Healthy Me," "Little Children, Big Challenges," "Little Discoverers: Big Fun With Science, Math and More," Julie’s Greenroom, The Muppets Take the Bowl, The Muppets Take the O2, the Nickelodeon webseries "Ask Sylvia" as the title character, and John Tartagila’s ImaginOcean (2010). More recent performances include Sesame Street Live! (playing debuting character Trevor Monster and understudying for Kevin Clash as Elmo), the 2021 film version of Little Shop of Horrors (as one of twelve lead puppeteers on the Plant), and Fraggle Rock: The Movie (as the voice of Sprocket the Dog).

Filmography

 * Meet Elmo's Baby Brother - Elmo
 * Elmo's Big Musical - Elmo (puppetry), (singing voice)
 * Elmo's Big Holiday Adventure - Elmo
 * Sesame Street 48th Anniversary: Behind the Scenes - Elmo / Himself
 * Elmo's World: The Movie - Elmo
 * Sesame Street Live! - Elmo (understudy) / Trevor Monster / Baker / Hunter puppeteer
 * Sesame Street - Elmo / Additional Muppets
 * Elmo’s World (2017 reboot) - Elmo
 * Sesame Street Presents: A Christmas Carol - Elmo / Tiny Tim / Roosevelt Franklin (puppetry only) / Lefty the Salesman
 * Elmo's World: Elmo and the Magical Railorad - Elmo
 * Fraggle Rock: The Movie - Sprocket the Dog, additional Fraggles (both voice only)
 * Little Shop of Horrors - Audrey II Puppeteer