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Ryan Jerome McCartan (born June 14, 1993) is an American actor and singer. He is known for playing Jason "J.D." Dean in the original Off-Broadway 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. In January 2025, he is set to take over the title role in The Great Gatsby on Broadway.

McCartan starred as Brad Majors in the 2016 Fox 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 sitcom Liv and Maddie.

Early life

McCartan was born in Excelsior, Minnesota. His father, Conn McCartan, was the principal at Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, Minnesota 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. 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.

McCartan originated the role of Jason Dean in the original Off-Broadway cast of the musical Heathers, 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 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 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. In 2019, he 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. In April 2020, he hosted the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS 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 as Elsa. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, 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, The Winchesters.

In June 2023, McCartan starred as Tony in a production of West Side Story at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

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, Javier Munoz and Veronica Swift.

In 2024, McCartan was announced to star in the Ahmanson Theatre and Broadway productions of Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends in February 2025. However, in November 2024, it was announced McCartan would instead replace Jeremy Jordan in the title role of The Great Gatsby on Broadway in January 2025.

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 runs a YouTube channel called The Stage Door. 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 .

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.

References

1. Ryan McCartan (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.
2. ^ "Ryan McCartan". Hollywood.com. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
3. "Ryan McCartan on Instagram: "26 🎂"". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021.
4. "Eden Prairie High School Principal Conn McCartan". USA Today. November 25, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
5. "Conn McCartan Retires As Perpich Arts High School Principal". perpich.mn.gov.
6. Skinner, Quinton (January 8, 2007). "Review: 'Disney's High School Musical'". Variety. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
7. Denette, Kelsey (March 21, 2011). "Minnetonka High School Presents MN's First PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Production". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
8. Hershberg, Marc (June 26, 2017). "Jimmy Awards Jump-Start Broadway Careers". Forbes. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
9. Craig Turpin (May 4, 2016). "Disney's Liv and Maddie stars perform at N.J. balloon festival". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved February 20, 2017. Ryan McCartan appears as recurring character Diggie on the show, which airs on Sunday nights.
10. Lesas, Sylvie (July 9, 2015). "R.L. Stine's Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls Releases on DVD and Digital HD September 29, 2015". Evigshed Mag. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
11. Devoe, Noelle (July 16, 2015). "Disney Channel's Dove Cameron & Ryan McCartan Take a Major Step in Their Adorable Relationship". Seventeen. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
12. Osmanski, Stephanie (September 29, 2015). "Dove Cameron and Ryan McCartan Announce Their Band Name". M Magazine. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
13. Johnson, Zach (October 2, 2015). "Dove Cameron and Ryan McCartan Release 'Written in the Stars' Music Video as Duo The Girl and the Dreamcatcher". E!. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
14. ^ Alexia Fernández (October 6, 2016). "Dove Cameron and Ryan McCartan Split Less Than Six Months After Getting Engaged". People. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
15. Wagmeister, Elizabeth (January 4, 2016). "TV News Roundup: Victoria Justice to Star in Fox's 'Rocky Horror' Special & More". Variety. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
16. "Ryan McCartan Joins WICKED As Fiyero Beginning September 11". BroadwayWorld. August 30, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
17. Lefkowitz, Andy (May 14, 2019). "Wicked Welcomes Hannah Corneau as Elphaba in Broadway Debut". Broadway.com. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
18. Steiman, Harvey (July 24, 2019). "Review: 'South Pacific' at Aspen Music Festival". Aspen Times.
19. "Ryan McCartan & Taylor Iman Jones to Lead Off-Broadway Musical Scotland, PA; Full Cast Set". Broadway.com. July 3, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
20. "25 Magical Years of Disney on Broadway Concert Streamed For BroadwayCares-Equity Fights AIDS COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund - Times Square Chronicles". t2conline.com. April 6, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
21. Gans, Andrew (February 18, 2020). "Ciara Renée and McKenzie Kurtz Are Frozen's New Elsa and Anna on Broadway Starting February 18". Playbill. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
22. Gans, Andrew (May 14, 2020). "Broadway's Frozen Will Not Reopen Post-Pandemic". Playbill.
23. Brunner, Raven (March 1, 2022). "Ryan McCartan Joins Frozen North American Tour For Limited Run". Playbill. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
24. Gans, Andrew (June 28, 2022). "Ryan McCartan Will Return to Cast of Disney's Frozen Tour". Playbill. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
25. "'The Winchesters' boss talks complicating things for John and Mary with those new characters". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
26. ^ "Ryan McCartan and Kanisha Marie Feliciano Will Star in Lyric Opera of Chicago's West Side Story | Playbill". Retrieved November 11, 2023.
27. "West Side Story Musical Review – A Beautiful Return to Chicago's Lyric Stage – Splash Magazines". Splash Magazines Worldwide: Adding Style to Your Life. June 12, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
28. "West Side Story at the Lyric is a masterful production of a perfect show |". June 17, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
29. Wild, Stephi. "Ryan McCartan Will Lead Off-Broadway Premiere of LONE STAR This Fall". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
30. ^ Reeve Carney, Ryan McCartan, Javier Munoz And More Lead FAUST: THE CONCERT At The Soraya
31. Beth Leavel, Daniel Yearwood, Ryan McCartan, More Join Broadway's Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends
32. Ryan McCartan Will Be Broadway's New The Great Gatsby
33. Ryan McCartan to Take Over Title Role in The Great Gatsby on Broadway in January
34. "See Ryan McCartan Tower Over Kirstin Chenoweth and Dove Cameron". WhoSay. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
35. Vulpo, Mike (October 5, 2016). "Dove Cameron and Ryan McCartan Call Off Their Engagement". E! News. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
36. "Sam & Ryan - YouTube". Retrieved February 5, 2021 – via YouTube.
37. "We Broke Up and You Didn't Notice". youtube.com.
38. McNamara, Brittney (November 2, 2016). "Why Ryan McCartan Spent Halloween in the Hospital". Teen Vogue. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
39. Bowling, Suzanna (November 7, 2019). "Ryan McCartan Talks About Being Sexually Abused and How He Has Conquered and Won". Times Square Chronicle. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
40. Getting Drunk And Gossiping! (Disney Channel, Friendships, & More), February 26, 2021, retrieved December 13, 2023
41. Your Assumptions About Us Were So Accurate It's Scary... (reacting to assumptions about us!), March 31, 2021, retrieved December 13, 2023
42. Wagmeister, Elizabeth (April 7, 2015). "Watch: Bella Thorne & Zendaya Reunite on 'K.C. Undercover' (Exclusive Clip)". Variety. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
43. Amber Gray, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Ryan McCartan, More Featured in Industry Reading of Into the Wild Musical
44. "Frozen's Ryan McCartan Joins Off-Broadway Cast of Lone Star | Playbill". Retrieved November 11, 2023.
45. Red Bull Theater The Imaginary Invalid
46. All-Star Concert of Follies Will Play Carnegie Hall
47. "The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again". iTunes Store. October 21, 2016.
48. "The Opposite – EP by Ryan McCartan". iTunes Store. May 18, 2018.
49. "Seventh Avenue – EP by Ryan McCartan". iTunes Store. September 20, 2019.
50. "When You Went Away - Single by Ryan McCartan". iTunes Store. January 12, 2017.
51. "Everything - Single by Ryan McCartan". iTunes Store. February 14, 2017.
52. "Right Now - Single by Ryan McCartan". iTunes Store. November 17, 2017.
53. "Changed My Mind - Single by Ryan McCartan". iTunes Store. March 29, 2018.
54. "He Don't Know You - Single by Ryan McCartan". iTunes Store. May 7, 2018.
55. "Acting Like You Don't - Single by Ryan McCartan". iTunes Store. September 6, 2019.
56. "High and Low - Single by Ryan McCartan". iTunes Store. October 30, 2020.
57. "Politician - Single by Ryan McCartan". iTunes Store. January 22, 2021.
58. "Pink and Green - Single by Ryan McCartan". iTunes Store. March 26, 2021.
59. "Ryan McCartan 'This Nearly Was Mine' R&H Goes Pop! (Official Music Video)". March 27, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021 – via YouTube.
60. "2011 Jimmy Awards | The National High School Musical Theatre Awards". jimmyawards.com. Retrieved February 11, 2021.

External links

• Ryan McCartan at IMDb
• Ryan McCartan on Twitter

• 1993 births
• 21st-century American LGBTQ people
• 21st-century American male actors
• 21st-century American male singers
• 21st-century American singers
• American LGBTQ singers
• American LGBTQ male actors
• American male television actors
• LGBTQ people from Minnesota
• Living people
• People from Excelsior, Minnesota