Bryan grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, graduating from Marple Newtown High School in 2003. Following graduation, he attended Temple University, majoring in Film and Media Arts and minoring in English. While at Temple, he directed, wrote, edited, and produced several short films, including an educational video called Aspect Ratio (2006) and a short surrealist piece entitled Mettle (2007), the latter of which was selected to the Diamond Screen Film Festival. He also produced and recorded sound for The Difficult Thing Is To Love (2007) and Haunted House (2009). Bryan graduated from Temple in August of 2007 after two internships in Los Angeles at John Crosby Management and Kadokawa Pictures America.