Ryan Jerome McCartan (born June 14, 1993) 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 Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

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 ''Liv and Maddie'', also known as ''Liv and Maddie: Cali Style'' for the fourth season, is an American comedy television series created by John D. Beck and Ron Hart that aired on Disney Channel from July 19, 2013 to March 24, 2017. The series ...

''. Further Broadway credits include

Fiyero ''Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'' is an American novel published in 1995, written by Gregory Maguire with illustrations by Douglas Smith. It is the first in '' The Wicked Years'' series, and was followed by '' Son of ...

in ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...

'' and Hans in '' Frozen''.

Early life

McCartan was born in

Excelsior, Minnesota Excelsior is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. Excelsior's historic commercial district along Water Street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the town has many Victorian archi ...

. His father, Conn McCartan, was the principal at

Eden Prairie High School Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) (formerly Eden Prairie Senior High School) is a four-year public high school in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States established in 1923. The present high school opened in 1981 and was significantly added to in ...

Eden Prairie, Minnesota Eden Prairie is a city southwest of downtown Minneapolis in Hennepin County and the List of cities in Minnesota, 16th-largest city in the U.S. state, State of Minnesota, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it has a ...

Career

McCartan began his career with a minor part in the stage version of '' Disney's High School Musical'' in 2007. In 2011 he starred in the titular role in Minnesota's first regional production of ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...

''. That same year, he won Best Performance by an Actor at the

Jimmy Awards The National High School Musical Theatre Awards, more commonly known as the Jimmy Awards, are awards given annually to recognize musical theatre performances by high school students in the United States. Two main awards are given each year, Best ...

, given out by

The Broadway League The Broadway League, formerly the League of American Theatres and Producers and League of New York Theatres and Producers, is the national trade association for the Broadway theatre industry based in New York, New York. Its members include thea ...

to the top performers in high school musical productions. McCartan also originated the role of Jason Dean in the original off-Broadway cast of the musical ''

Heathers ''Heathers'' is a 1989 American black comedy film written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann, in both of their respective film debuts. The film stars Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker, ...

,'' which ran from March through August 2014, after playing the role in the Los Angeles tryout in 2013. In 2013, McCartan began playing the recurring role of Diggie on the Disney Channel comedy ''

''. In 2015 he starred in the direct-to-video film '' R.L. Stine's Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls''. In 2016 McCartan was cast in the lead role of Brad Majors in the 2016

musical television film '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again''. In May 2015,

Dove Cameron Dove Olivia Cameron (born Chloe Celeste Hosterman; January 15, 1996) is an American singer and actress. She became famous for her double role of the eponymous characters in the Disney Channel comedy series '' Liv and Maddie'', for which she w ...

announced that she and McCartan were officially forming a pop duo and would be releasing their first original song. In September 2015, they announced their group's name would be The Girl and the Dreamcatcher, and their first video was released in October 2015. The pair broke up in October 2016. On September 11, 2018, McCartan made his Broadway debut as

in the musical ''

''. He remained with the show through May 12, 2019. 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 The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

'' at the

Aspen Music Festival The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music students. Founded in 1949, th ...

. In 2019, starred in the role of Mac in the Roundabout Theatre Company's new musical ''

Scotland PA ''Scotland, PA'' is a 2001 film directed and written by Billy Morrissette. It is a modernized version of William Shakespeare's ''Macbeth''. The film stars James LeGros, Maura Tierney, and Christopher Walken. Shakespeare's tragedy, originally s ...

''. In November 2019 he made his solo show debut at

Feinstein's/54 Below 54 Below is a cabaret and restaurant in the basement of Studio 54 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Owned by Broadway producers Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, Marc Routh and Tom Viertel, 54 Below has hosted shows by such performers as Patt ...

. In April 2020, he hosted the

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) is an American nonprofit organization that raises funds for AIDS-related causes across the United States, headquartered in New York City. It is the theatre community's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. ...

viewing of 25 Years of Disney Broadway. He joined the cast of '' Frozen'' on Broadway as Hans in February 2020 opposite

McKenzie Kurtz McKenzie Kurtz (born January 13, 1997) is an American stage actress, singer, and dancer. In her Broadway debut, she played the role of Anna in ''Frozen''. Early life Kurtz grew up in Alpharetta, Georgia. As a teenager, Kurtz was active in the ...

as Anna and

Ciara Renée Ciara Renée Harper (born October 19, 1990) is an American actress and musician. She is best known for her roles on Broadway as The Witch in '' Big Fish,'' the Leading Player in '' Pippin'', and Elsa in ''Frozen.'' She played Esmeralda in ''The ...

as Elsa. However, due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, all Broadway theatres were closed. Disney later announced, on May 14, 2020, that ''Frozen'' would not reopen after the lifting of the lockdown. During 2022, he played Hans in the Broadway National tour of ''Frozen'' for two runs, with his final performance being September 4, 2022. His first run would reunite him with Kurtz, his Broadway Anna.

Personal life

McCartan began dating actress and singer

who was his ''

Liv & Maddie ''Liv and Maddie'', also known as ''Liv and Maddie: Cali Style'' for the fourth season, is an American comedy television series created by John D. Beck and Ron Hart that aired on Disney Channel from July 19, 2013 to March 24, 2017. The series ...

'' co-star in August 2013. McCartan was 20 years at that time and Dove Cameron was 17 years old. He officially announced that Cameron was his fiancée on April 14, 2016, but the relationship ended in October 2016. Since October 2017, he has been dating Samantha Fekete with whom he runs a YouTube channel called Sam & Ryan. On July 29, 2014, McCartan revealed in a tweet that he has had

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

since age six. In 2019, McCartan stated in an interview that he had been sexually abused by a theatre mentor when he was 12. When asked by a fan on an

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

live if he would ever have a relationship with a man, McCartan responded, "Fuck yeah I would. ... Love is love. Period. I've been with men."

Filmography

Theater credits

Discography

Studio albums

Soundtrack albums

Extended plays

Singles

Promotional singles

Other appearances

Music videos

Awards

In 2011, he received a

Jimmy Award The National High School Musical Theatre Awards, more commonly known as the Jimmy Awards, are awards given annually to recognize musical theatre performances by high school students in the United States. Two main awards are given each year, Best ...

for Best Performance by an Actor''.''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCartan, Ryan 1993 births Living people People from Excelsior, Minnesota American male television actors 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers LGBT people from Minnesota