Ryan McCartan


Ryan Jerome McCartan is an American actor and singer. As an actor, he is known for his recurring role as Diggie Smalls on the Disney Channel sitcom Liv and Maddie, and for his role as Brad Majors in the 2016 Fox musical television film '. McCartan is also known as one half of the pop duo The Girl and the Dreamcatcher. McCartan also played Jason "J.D." Dean in the Los Angeles and the original off-Broadway versions of '. He also played Fiyero, the main love interest, in the Broadway production of Wicked. He was also the final Hans in the Broadway production of Frozen.

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.
Starting in 2013 McCartan began playing the recurring role of Diggie on the Disney Channel comedy Liv and Maddie. In 2015 he starred in the direct-to-video film '. In 2016 McCartan was cast in the lead role of Brad Majors in the 2016 Fox musical television film '.
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. Beginning September 11, 2018, McCartan made his Broadway debut as Fiyero in the musical Wicked. He remained with the show through May 12, 2019.
He also originated the role of Jason Dean in the original off-broadway cast of the musical . which ran till 2014 and the Los Angeles version 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 as Hans in February 2020. However, due to the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic, all Broadway theatres were closed. Disney later announced Frozen would not reopen after the lockdown is lifted.
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.

Personal life

McCartan was born in Excelsior, Minnesota. His father, Conn McCartan, was the principal at Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, until he retired in 2018. Now, Conn teaches at Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley, MN. Ryan McCartan attended Minnetonka High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota, where he was active in theater and choir.
McCartan began dating actress and singer Dove Cameron in August 2013. He officially announced that Cameron was his fiancée on April 14, 2016, but their relationship ended in October 2016. As of 2017, he is dating youtuber Samantha Fekete. On October 31, 2016, McCartan revealed he suffered from 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.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2011Extremely DecentJeffTelevision film
2013The MiddleRyanEpisode: "Valentine's Day IV"
2013Monday MorningsDanielEpisode: "The Legend and the Fall"
2013–2017Liv and MaddieDiggieRecurring role
2014Last Man StandingMattEpisode: "Tasers"
2014Royal PainsWilliam "Cinco" Phipps VRecurring role
2015Austin & AllyBillieEpisode: "Duos & Deception"
2016Brad MajorsTelevision film
2017Midnight, TexasJeremyEpisodes: "Riders on the Storm", "The Virgin Sacrifice"
2017FreakishOliverRecurring role
2018Love DailyDylanEpisode: "Love and Cheese"
2018Princess Rap BattleMad HatterDigital Episode: "Dorothy vs. Alice"

Theater

Discography

Soundtrack albums