Ryan McCartan
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Ryan Jerome McCartan (born June 14, 1993) is an American actor and singer. He is known for portraying the role of Jason "J.D." Dean in the original
Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
cast of '' Heathers: The Musical''. His Broadway credits include playing Fiyero Tigelaar in the 15th anniversary cast of '' Wicked'' and Prince Hans in the closing cast of '' Frozen''. As of June 2025, he is starring as
Jay Gatsby Jay Gatsby () (originally named James Gatz) is the titular fictional character of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel ''The Great Gatsby''. The character is an enigmatic ''nouveau riche'' millionaire who lives in a Long Island mansion where he oft ...
in ''
The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...
'' on Broadway. McCartan starred as 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 ("brush"). Twelve species ...
musical television film '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again''. He also played the recurring role of Diggie Smalls on the
Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
sitcom '' Liv and Maddie''.


Early life

McCartan was born Ryan Jerome McCartan on June 14, 1993 in Excelsior, Minnesota. His father, Conn McCartan, was the principal at
Eden Prairie High School Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) 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 1990, 1994 and 1997. It was named a Blue R ...
in
Eden Prairie, Minnesota Eden Prairie is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. It had a population of 64,198 at the 2020 census, making it the 16th-largest city in Minnesota. The city is adjacent to the north bank of the Minnesota River, upstream fro ...
until his retirement in June 2023.


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 may refer to: Novel * The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux Characters * Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...
''. That same year, he won Best Performance by an Actor at the Jimmy Awards, 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 City. Its members include theatre ow ...
to the top performers in high school musical productions. McCartan originated the role of Jason Dean in the original
Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
cast of the musical ''
Heathers ''Heathers'' is a 1988 American teen dark comedy crime 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, K ...
,'' which ran from March through August 2014. He previously played the role in the 2013 world premiere of the musical in Los Angeles. In July 2013, McCartan began playing the recurring role of Diggie on the
Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
comedy '' Liv and Maddie''. He was in the show until the finale, which aired on March 24, 2017. In 2015, he starred in the direct-to-video film '' R.L. Stine's Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls''. In May 2015, Dove Cameron 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. In 2016 McCartan was cast in the lead role of 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 ("brush"). Twelve species ...
musical television film '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again''. On September 11, 2018, McCartan made his Broadway debut as Fiyero in the musical '' Wicked''. He remained with the show until May 12, 2019, where Jessica Vosk also played her final performance as Elphaba. 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 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, he starred in the role of Mac in the
Roundabout Theatre Company The Roundabout Theatre Company is a nonprofit organization, non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fr ...
's new musical '' Scotland PA''. In November 2019 he made his solo show debut at
Feinstein's/54 Below 54 Below is a nonprofit cabaret and restaurant in the basement of Studio 54 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Run by Broadway producers Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, Marc Routh and Tom Viertel, 54 Below has hosted shows by such performer ...
. 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 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'', Jenna in ''Waitress,'' and Elsa in '' Frozen.'' She pl ...
as Elsa. However, due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, all Broadway theatres were closed in March. 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. In October 2022, McCartan was cast as Kyle Reed in the spin-off of ''
Supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
'', '' The Winchesters''. In June 2023, McCartan starred as Tony in a production of ''
West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...
'' at the
Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is an American opera company based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox (Chicago opera), Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, w ...
. In November 2023, McCartan starred as Cletis in the Off-Broadway production of ''Lone Star''. In September 2024, he took on the titular role in Randy Newman's ''Faust'' at The Soraya in Los Angeles, California. He starred opposite
Reeve Carney Reeve Jefferson Carney (born April 18, 1983) is an American actor, musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for originating the role of Orpheus in the original Broadway cast of the Tony Award–winning musical '' Hadestown''. He also ...
, Javier Munoz and
Veronica Swift Veronica Swift (born May 14, 1994) is an American jazz and bebop singer. Early life Swift was raised in Charlottesville, Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, as part of a family of musicians. Her parents are late jazz pianist Hod O'Brien and ...
. In 2024, McCartan was announced to star in the
Ahmanson Theatre The Ahmanson Theatre is one of the four main venues that compose the Los Angeles Music Center. Shows at this theater are produced by Center Theatre Group. History The theatre was built as a result of a donation from Howard F. Ahmanson Sr, the ...
and Broadway productions of '' Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends'' from February to June 2025. However, it was later announced McCartan would be replaced by Kyle Selig, and instead join the cast of ''
The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...
'' on Broadway beginning in January 2025 replacing Jeremy Jordan in the title role.


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, but the relationship ended in October 2016. In October 2017, McCartan began dating Samantha Fekete, with whom he ran a YouTube channel called ''The Stage Door,'' previously known as ''Sam & Ryan''. In September 2023, McCartan and Fekete revealed that they had amicably ended their romantic relationship, but planned to continue running The Stage Door together and remain friends. Later, however, the duo announced the discontinuation of the channel on a YouTube community post. On July 29, 2014, McCartan revealed in a tweet that he has had Type-1 diabetes since age six. In 2019, McCartan stated in an interview that he had been sexually abused by a theatre mentor when he was 12. In multiple Sam & Ryan videos and other Internet media, McCartan has self-identified as either queer or bisexual.


Filmography


Theatre credits

''* Credits in bold indicate Broadway venues''


Discography


Studio albums


Soundtrack albums


Extended plays


Singles


Promotional singles


Other appearances


Music videos


Awards

In 2011, he received a Jimmy Award for Best Performance by an Actor''.'' In May 2025, he was nominated for a Broadway.com Audience Choice Award in the category of Favorite Replacement Actor for his performance in ''
The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...
''.Death Becomes Her, Maybe Happy Ending, Oh, Mary! and More Earn Nominations for the 2025 Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards
Broadway.com, May 5, 2025


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCartan, Ryan 1993 births 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers American LGBTQ male actors American LGBTQ singers American male television actors The Girl and the Dreamcatcher members LGBTQ people from Minnesota Living people People from Excelsior, Minnesota