Ryan Timothy Malgarini, (born June 12, 1992 in Renton, Washington) is an American actor.Ryan Malgarini became interested in acting as a result of watching his grandmother, Gloria Malgarini's, involvement in commercials. At the age of five, Malgarini was delighted to spot her in a commercial for "Senior Dimensions", a Nevada-based healthcare provider, he pointed at the television and said, "I want to do that!"[citation needed]From that point on Malgarini would appear as an extra for some of his grandmother's commercials. Malgarini was soon appearing in commercials for, McDonald's and Washington Mutual. He also took acting classes at the famed Young Actors Space in Los Angeles which earned him an agent and a manager.[citation needed]Finally, in 2002, Malgarini made his film debut. The United States of Leland (released in 2004), playing a six-year-old boy in flashback scenes. This was a rather challenging role for Malgarini, since it required him to weep for the first time on screen in a funeral scene. Malgarini rose to the occasion and enjoyed working with Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey.[citation needed]In 2003, Malgarini played the role of Harry Coleman in Disney's comedy hit, Freaky Friday, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, a mother and daughter who magically switch places for a day. He appeared with Tom Hanks in a test film to develop the "performance capture" technology for The Polar Express in 2004, a process in which an actor's movements and facial expressions are digitally recorded with light sensors, and later used to bring a computer animated character to life.Malgarini recently appeared as "Benjy" in the film adaptation of How to Eat Fried Worms, the beloved gross-out children's novel by Thomas Rockwell.