Ryan McCartan
Ryan McCartan | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 14, 1993 Excelsior, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 2011–present |
| Relatives | Alison McCartan (sister) |
| Musical career | |
| Instruments |
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| Associated acts | The Girl and the Dreamcatcher |
| Website | Official website |
Ryan Jerome McCartan[1] (born June 14, 1993[2][3]) is an American actor and singer. As an actor, he is known for playing Jason "J.D." Dean in the original off-Broadway production of Heathers: The Musical (2014) and for playing Brad Majors in the 2016 Fox musical television film The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again. McCartan is also known as half of the former pop duo The Girl and the Dreamcatcher. McCartan played the recurring role of Diggie Smalls on the Disney Channel sitcom Liv and Maddie. Further Broadway credits include Fiyero in Wicked and Hans in Frozen.
Early life[]
McCartan was born in Excelsior, Minnesota.[2] His father, Conn McCartan, was the principal at Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, Minnesota,[4] until he retired in 2018.
Career[]
McCartan began his career with a minor part in the stage version of Disney's High School Musical in 2007.[5] In 2011 he starred in the titular role in Minnesota's first regional production of The Phantom of The Opera. That same year, he won Best Performance by an Actor at the Jimmy Awards, given out by The Broadway League to the top performers in high school musical productions.[6]
In 2013 McCartan began playing the recurring role of Diggie on the Disney Channel comedy Liv and Maddie.[7] In 2015 he starred in the direct-to-video film R.L. Stine's Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls.[8] In 2016 McCartan was cast in the lead role of Brad Majors in the 2016 Fox musical television film The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again.[9]
In May 2015 Dove Cameron announced that she and McCartan were officially forming a pop duo and would be releasing their first original song.[10] In September 2015, they announced their group's name would be The Girl and the Dreamcatcher,[11] and their first video was released in October 2015.[12]
On September 11, 2018, McCartan made his Broadway debut as Fiyero in the musical Wicked.[13] He remained with the show through May 12, 2019.[14]
He also originated the role of Jason Dean in the original off-Broadway cast of the musical Heathers, which ran from March through August 2014, after playing the role in the Los Angeles tryout in 2013. In mid-2018 he originated the lead role of Eddie Corbin in the new musical Mutt House at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, and in August 2019 he played Lt. Cable in South Pacific at the Aspen Music Festival.
He also starred in the role of Mac in the Roundabout Theatre Company's new musical Scotland PA. In November 2019 he made his solo show debut at Feinstein's/54 Below. He joined the cast of Frozen on Broadway as Hans in February 2020.[15] However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all Broadway theatres were closed. Disney later announced, on May 14, 2020, that Frozen would not reopen after the lockdown is lifted.[16]
McCartan has taken part in numerous promotions of new musicals such as and
McCartan is part of the Rodgers and Hammerstein goes Pop! project producing a single version of This Nearly Was Mine.
In April 2020, he hosted the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS viewing of 25 Years of Disney Broadway.
He is part of the cast of two upcoming movies and Love You Anyway
Personal life[]
McCartan began dating actress and singer Dove Cameron who was his Liv & Maddie co-star in August 2013. He officially announced that Cameron was his fiancée on April 14, 2016,[17][18] but the relationship ended in October 2016. McCartan later stated that Cameron had been unfaithful towards the end of the relationship.[citation needed] Since October 2017, he has been dating Samantha Fekete with whom he runs a YouTube channel called Sam & Ryan.[19]
On July 29, 2014, McCartan revealed in a tweet that he has suffered from diabetes since age six.[20] In 2019, McCartan stated in an interview that he had been sexually abused by a theatre mentor when he was 12.[21]
Through his father, his second cousin is professional basketball player, Lindsay Whalen (they share the same great grandparents).
Filmography[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Summer Forever | Liam | |
| 2015 | R.L. Stine's Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls | Hunter | Direct-to-video film |
| 2016 | Emma's Chance | Jacob Murphy | |
| 2016 | The Standoff | Farrell Bennett | |
| 2021 | The F**k Happened | Scotty Ransford | Completed |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Extremely Decent | Jeff | Television film |
| 2013 | The Middle | Ryan | Episode: "Valentine's Day IV" |
| 2013 | Monday Mornings | Daniel | Episode: "The Legend and the Fall" |
| 2013–2017 | Liv and Maddie | Diggie | Recurring role |
| 2014 | Last Man Standing | Matt | Episode: "Tasers" |
| 2014 | Royal Pains | William "Cinco" Phipps V | Recurring role (season 6) |
| 2015 | Austin & Ally | Billie | Episode: "Duos & Deception"[22] |
| 2016 | The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again | Brad Majors | Television film |
| 2017 | Midnight, Texas | Jeremy | Episodes: "Riders on the Storm", "The Virgin Sacrifice" |
| 2017 | Freakish | Oliver | Recurring role (season 2) |
| 2018 | Love Daily | Dylan | Episode: "Love and Cheese" |
| 2018 | Princess Rap Battle | Mad Hatter | Digital Episode: "Dorothy vs. Alice" |
Theatre Credits[]
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–2014 | Heathers: The Musical | Jason "J.D." Dean | Off-Broadway at New World Stages |
| 2018 | Mutt House | Eddie Corbin | Kirk Douglas Theatre |
| 2018–2019 | Wicked | Fiyero | Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre |
| 2019 | Scotland, PA | Mac | Off-Broadway at Laura Pels Theatre |
| 2020 | Frozen | Hans | Broadway at St. James Theatre |
Discography[]
Soundtrack albums[]
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Heathers: The Musical |
|
| The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again |
|
Awards[]
In 2011, he received a Jimmy Award for Best Performance by an Actor.[24]
References[]
- ^ Ryan McCartan [@ryanmccartan] (September 8, 2013). ""@NJBergs: My middle name is jerome" reppin' proud. Best middle name ever. Nathan Jerome and Ryan Jerome #ForLife" (Tweet). Retrieved January 30, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Ryan McCartan". Hollywood.com. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
- ^ "Ryan McCartan on Instagram: "26