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 cast of . His Broadway theatre credits include playing Fiyero Tigelaar in the 15th anniversary cast of Wicked and Prince Hans in the closing cast of Frozen. As of July 2025, he is starring as Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby on Broadway.
McCartan starred as Brad Majors in the 2016 Fox musical television film . He also played the recurring role of Diggie Smalls on the Disney Channel sitcom Liv and Maddie (2013-2017).
McCartan originated the role of Jason Dean in the original Off-Broadway cast of the musical , 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 . 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 .
On September 11, 2018, McCartan made his Broadway theatre 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 Faust 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 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 on Broadway beginning in January 2025 replacing Jeremy Jordan in the title role. He’s performed opposite Eva Noblezada, Sarah Hyland, and Aisha Jackson as Daisy.
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.
Personal life
Filmography
+Film roles 2015 Summer Forever Liam Hunter Direct-to-video film 2016 Emma's Chance Jacob Murphy The Standoff Farrell Bennett 2018 The Forbidden Cure Dr. Max Gerson Nominated for Best Short Film at Burbank International Film Festival 2022 Love You Anyway Daniel Direct-to-video film Only Good Feelings Benny Post-production +Television roles 2011 Extremely Decent Jeff Television film 2013 The Middle Ryan Episode: "Valentine's Day IV" Monday Mornings Daniel Episode: "The Legend and the Fall" 2013–2017 Liv and Maddie Digbert "Diggie" Smalls Recurring role;
27 episodes2014 Last Man Standing Matt Episode: "Tasers" Royal Pains William "Cinco" Phipps V Recurring role (season 6);
4 episodes2015 Austin & Ally Billie Episode: "Duos & Deception" 2016 Brad Majors Television film 2017 Midnight, Texas Jeremy 2 episodes: "Riders on the Storm", "The Virgin Sacrifice" Freakish Oliver "Ollie" Keller Recurring role (season 2);
5 episodes2018 Love Daily Dylan Episode: "Love and Cheese" 2018-2019 Princess Rap Battle Mad Hatter 2 digital episodes 2022-2023 The Winchesters Kyle Reed Recurring role;
4 episodes
Theatre credits
* Credits in bold indicate Broadway theatre venues
2007 High School Musical on Stage! Ensemble Cargill Stage, Minneapolis, Minnesota 2010 The Master Butchers Singing Club Franz Waldvogel Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying J. Pierrepont Finch Won a Jimmy Award 2011 The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera Minnetonka High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota 2013 Jason "J.D." Dean Hudson Backstage Theatre in Los Angeles, California 2014 Off-Broadway at New World Stages 2018 Mutt House Eddie Corbin The Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, California 2018-2019 Wicked Fiyero Tigelaar Gershwin Theatre:
September 11 – December 30, 2018
January 22 – May 12, 20192019 Into the Wild Performer Workshop at Playwrights Horizons South Pacific Lieutenant Joseph Cable, USMC Aspen Music Festival in Aspen, Colorado Scotland, PA Mac Off-Broadway at Laura Pels Theatre 2020 Frozen Prince Hans St. James Theatre:
February 18 – March 11, 20202022 U.S. National Tour:
March 17 – April 17, 2022
July 12 – September 4, 20222023 West Side Story Tony Lyric Opera of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois Lone Star Cletis Off-Broadway at the Theatre Row Building 2024 The Imaginary Invalid Cléante Florence Gould Hall Red Bull Theater The Imaginary Invalid Follies Young Ben Carnegie Hall Faust Faust The Soraya in Los Angeles, California 2025 The Great Gatsby Jay Gatsby Broadway Theatre:
January 21, 2025–present
Discography
Studio albums
Soundtrack albums
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Extended plays
Singles
Promotional singles
Other appearances
Music videos
Awards
External links
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