Lucas Grabeel

Lucas Stephen Grabeel (/ˈɡreɪbiːl/ GRAY-beel; born November 23, 1984) is an American actor, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his role as Ryan Evans in the High School Musical film series (2006–2008). His other film appearances include Halloweentown High (2004), Return to Halloweentown (2006), Alice Upside Down (2007), and The Adventures of Food Boy (2008). He appeared as a young Lex Luthor and Conner Kent in the superhero television series Smallville (2006–2011).

Lucas Grabeel
Grabeel in 2016
Born	Lucas Stephen Grabeel (1984-11-23) November 23, 1984 (age 40) Springfield, Missouri, U.S.
Occupations	Actor singer songwriter
Years active	2004–present
Musical career
Origin	Rogersville, Missouri, U.S.
Genres	Pop dance-pop
Instruments	Vocals guitar piano
Labels	Road Dawg Records

In 2011, Grabeel released his debut extended play, Sunshine, and began playing Toby Kennish in the ABC Freeform drama series Switched at Birth, appearing until 2017. He has also provided voice acting roles for various animated series, including Deputy Peck in Disney Junior's Sheriff Callie's Wild West (2014–2017), the title character in Netflix's Pinky Malinky (2019), and Kyle/Mist in My Adventures with Superman (2023).

Early life

Grabeel was born in Springfield, Missouri on November 23, 1984, the son of Jean (née Harman) and Stephen Grabeel.^[1] Before transferring to and graduating from Kickapoo High School in Springfield in 2003, he attended Logan-Rogersville Elementary, Middle and High School. He also played drums for a local church and initiated a men's a cappella singing group at Kickapoo called No Treble. At school, he found passions in the guitar and the accordion while also enjoying dance. While in Rogersville, Missouri, he regularly attended Harmony Baptist Church, where he was a part of the children's and youth groups.^[2]

Career

2004–08: Beginning and High School Musical

Grabeel (left) and Corbin Bleu (right) in High School Musical: The Concert, in 2007

In 2004, he starred in his first film role as Ethan Dolloway in the third installment of the Halloweentown series Halloweentown High. He reprised this role in the series' fourth installment Return to Halloweentown. Grabeel has made television guest appearances in TV series such as Boston Legal, 'Til Death, and Veronica Mars. On Smallville, he portrayed a young Lex Luthor. During these stints, Grabeel also worked a day job as a Blockbuster store clerk.

In 2006, he was cast in the role of Ryan Evans, the fraternal twin brother of Sharpay Evans (played by Ashley Tisdale), in the Disney film High School Musical. He reprised his role in the television sequels High School Musical 2 and High School Musical 3: Senior Year. In 2007, he joined co-stars Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman on the 51-date High School Musical: The Concert. In early 2009, Billboard believed that Grabeel and Tisdale's track "I Want It All" should be nominated for an Oscar in the Best Original Song category however, the song did not make the final shortlist.^[3] During his time in High School Musical, Grabeel (along with his co-stars) had a total of six tracks chart in the Billboard Hot 100.^[4][5][6][7]

He was the first artist to debut in the Billboard Hot 100 with two simultaneous new entries in one week.^[8] While with Disney Channel, Grabeel also participated in the first ever Disney Channel Games and co-captained the green team along with Ashley Tisdale, Mitchel Musso, Miley Cyrus, Emily Osment and Kyle Massey. A year later, he returned to repeat his captaincy of the green team with Dylan Sprouse, Miley Cyrus, Monique Coleman and Brandon Baker. Other film projects Grabeel was involved with include the animated film, At Jesus' Side, where he voiced a dog named Jericho.^[9] He also filmed the independent film, Alice Upside Down,^[10] as the character of Lester McKinley, based on the "Alice book series" by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Aside his involvement in the High School Musical soundtracks, Grabeel has recorded a song called "You Know I Will" for the soundtrack of The Fox and the Hound 2 and also recorded his own version of the Michael Bolton track "Go the Distance", from Disney's Hercules, for DisneyMania 5.

In 2007, Grabeel co-wrote and recorded a song called "You Got It"^[11] which was released in the iTunes Store on August 19, 2007,^[12] while its accompanying music video was released on his official website. Grabeel also recorded another original song called "Trash Talkin'" which was released November 15, 2008, on YouTube.^[13] In 2008, he also appeared in the film Milk, a biopic about the slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk. Grabeel played a friend and supporter of Milk, photographer Danny Nicoletta. He also appeared in the 2008 Walt Disney Pictures film College Road Trip as Scooter, which features other Disney stars Raven-Symoné, Brenda Song, and Margo Harshman. He also stars in the independent film Lock and Roll Forever alongside Oreskaband.^[14] Grabeel also guest starred in an episode of The Cleveland Show.

2009–present: Switched at Birth and other projects

Early in 2009, Grabeel was voted Most Likely to Do Big Things in 2009 by MTV and had an exclusive interview with them. He mentions the release of another music video for his track Get Your Ass On.^[15] He also mentioned his latest film project, Dancing Ninja, where he played the lead Tokyo Jones alongside David Hasselhoff.^[16] In May 2009, he portrayed the role on stage of Matt in the Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones musical, The Fantasticks with Eric McCormack and Harry Groener at UCLA's Freud Playhouse.^[17] Grabeel also sings in the iTunes show I Kissed a Vampire, in which, he stars. In early 2009, he appeared at the Southland Theatre Artists Goodwill Event (S.T.A.G.E.), an AIDS charity event, in Beverly Hills performing George and Ira Gershwin's "I Can't Be Bothered Now".^[18][19] He also recorded and released a new track titled '135n8' in early 2014 with the music video being uploaded to his YouTube account.

In 2011 he appeared in the 10th season of Smallville as Alexander Luthor / Conner Kent, a hybrid clone with Lex Luthor and Clark Kent's DNA. In 2007, he filmed the film The Adventures of Food Boy with Brittany Curran, as the lead, Ezra Chase. Since the summer of 2011, Grabeel has been starring in the ABC Family drama Switched at Birth, in which he plays the brother of one of the two girls that were mistakenly switched at birth in the hospital.^[20] In March 2012, I Kissed A Vampire was released in the US, where Lucas stars alongside Drew Seeley and Adrian Slade.^[21] In January 2014 he provided his first-ever voice over role for an animated series, Deputy Peck on Sheriff Callie's Wild West. He has also played the character of Gustav in Dragons: Defenders of Berk. In 2019, Grabeel appeared in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series as himself.

Other ventures

In 2007, Grabeel founded a production company called 14341 Productions. His role within involves overseeing many projects from writing to directing and executive producing. The company has produced projects such as the short films The Real Son, Smoke Break; the music videos for "Get Your Ass On" and "You Got It". They produced a television pilot called Regarding Beauregard which was Grabeel's directorial debut. They also created a 17-minute short film, Chuckle Boy, as well as a short film called The Dragon in 2009.^[22] Their work debuted at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.^[23]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbeth	Charlie / Gertrude / Ophelia
2007	Alice Upside Down	Lester McKinley
2008	The Real Son	Freddie Deasnman	Short film
	Smoke Break	Sir Anthony Childsworth	Short film
	At Jesus' Side	Jericho (voice)	[24]
	Lock and Roll Forever	Donni
	High School Musical 3: Senior Year	Ryan Evans
	College Road Trip	Scooter
	The Adventures of Food Boy	Ezra Chase
	Milk	Danny Nicoletta
2009	Chuckle Boy	Daniel Aranyo	Short film
2010	Dancing Ninja	Nikki
2012	I Kissed a Vampire	Dylan Knight
2013	Chocolate Milk	Stan	Short film
2014	Dragon Nest: Warriors' Dawn	Gerrant (voice)	[24]
	Pilot Season	Luc	Short film
2018	Little Women	Laurie Lawrence
2023	Max & Me	Jessie (voice)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Halloweentown High	Ethan Dalloway	Television film
2005	Boston Legal	Jason Matheny	Episode: "The Ass Fat Jungle"
2006	'Til Death	Pete Pratt	Episode: "Pilot"
2006–2011	Smallville	Young Lex Luthor, Superboy	3 episodes
2005–2006	Veronica Mars	Wanna Score Boy / Kelly Kuzzio	2 episodes
2006	Return to Halloweentown	Ethan Dalloway	Television film
	High School Musical	Ryan Evans	Television film
2007	High School Musical 2		Television film
2009	Glenn Martin DDS	Singer (voice)	Episode: "Deck the Malls"
	I Kissed a Vampire	Dylan	Main role
2010	The Cleveland Show	Nerd #2 (voice)	Episode: "Love Rollercoaster"
2010–present	Family Guy	Chadley / Various characters (voice)	24 episodes
2010	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Guillermo Seidel	Episode: "Field Mice"
2011	Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure	Ryan Evans	Television film
	Special Agent Oso	Uncle Eric (voice)	Episode: "Snapfingers"
2011–2017	Switched at Birth	Toby Kennish	Main role
2012	Robot Chicken	Justin Bieber (voice)	Episode: "Robot Chicken's ATM Christmas Special"
2013–2018	DreamWorks Dragons	Gustav (voice)	12 episodes[24]
2013	Pound Puppies	Percy (voice)	Episode: "Cuddle Up Buttercup"
2014–2017	Sheriff Callie's Wild West	Deputy Peck (voice)	Main cast[25]
2014	Phineas and Ferb	Ropey-Face (voice)	Episode: "Doof 101"
	Chopped	Himself	Episode: "Chopped Tournament of Stars: Actors"
2015	Doraemon	Big G (voice)	Episode: "Big G's Big Show"
2016	High School Musical: 10th Anniversary	Himself	Special
2016–2019	Elena of Avalor	Jiku (voice)	6 episodes
2017–2018	Spirit Riding Free	Julian (voice)	6 episodes[24]
2019	Pinky Malinky	Pinky Malinky, additional voices	Main role[24]
2019, 2023	High School Musical: The Musical: The Series	Himself	2 episodes
2020	The Disney Family Singalong		Special
2022	Spirit Rangers	Chad (voice)	Episode: "Not Your Opossum Mascot"[24]
2023	My Adventures with Superman	Kyle / Mist, additional voices	2 episodes[24]

Discography

For his work with the High School Musical film series, see High School Musical discography.

Extended play

Title	Album details
Sunshine	Released: June 22, 2011[26] Formats: CD, digital download Label: Road Dawg

Singles

As main artist

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications

Title	Year	Peak chart positions				Album
		US [27]	AUS [28]	CAN [29]	UK [30]
"You Got It"[31]	2007	—	—	—	—	Non-album single
"I Want It All" (with Ashley Tisdale)	2008	113	93	75	87	High School Musical 3: Senior Year
"135n8"[32]	2014	—	—	—	—	Non-album single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

As featured artist

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications

Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Album
		US [27]	AUS [33]	UK [34]
"What Time Is It?" (among the cast of High School Musical 2)	2007	6	66	20	High School Musical 2
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Other appearances

Title	Year	Other artist(s)	Album
"You Know I Will"	2006	—	The Fox and the Hound 2
"Go the Distance"	2007		DisneyMania 5
"Jenny Got a Fever"			Alice Upside Down
"Gotta Rock"
"Let It Snow"			Disney Channel Holiday
"Baby"	2011		Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure
"Just a Little Peck"	2012	Adrian Slade and Drew Seeley	I Kissed a Vampire
"Happily Afterlife"
"Outta My Head"		—

Other charted songs

List of songs, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions				Certifications	Album
		US [27]	AUS [33]	CAN [29]	UK [34]
"Bop to the Top" (with Ashley Tisdale)	2006	62	—	—	137		High School Musical
"We're All in This Together" (among the cast of High School Musical)		34	—	—	40	RIAA: Gold[35]
"Fabulous" (with Ashley Tisdale)	2007	76	91	63	64		High School Musical 2
"All for One" (among the cast of High School Musical 2)		92	—	—	87
"A Night to Remember" (among the cast of High School Musical 3)	2008	—[a]	96	—	94		High School Musical 3: Senior Year
"High School Musical" (among the cast of High School Musical 3)		—	—	—	105
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2011	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Summer TV Star: Male	Switched at Birth	Nominated
2013		Choice TV Actor: Drama		Nominated
2014				Nominated

Notes

1. "A Night to Remember" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number eight on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.

References

1. Ozarks son continues Hollywood climb Archived January 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, News-Leader.com, September 13, 2005; Retrieved April 6, 2009
2. Lucas Grabeel, AtJesusSide.com, Retrieved April 6, 2009.
3. And The Best Song Oscar Nominees Should Be...., Billboard, January 21, 2009; Retrieved April 7, 2009
4. Fergie Scores Third Solo No. 1 On Hot 100, Billboard, August 30, 2007; Retrieved April 7, 2009
5. We're All In This Together – The Billboard Hot 100, Billboard, February 11, 2006; Retrieved April 7, 2009
6. I Don't Dance – The Billboard Hot 100, Billboard, August 8, 2007; Retrieved April 7, 2009
7. What Time Is It – The Billboard Hot 100, Billboard, November 8, 2007; Retrieved April 7, 2009
8. Chart Beat – High School Musical Charting, Billboard, February 2, 2006; Retrieved April 7, 2009
9. AtJesusSide Cast, AtJesusSide.com, Retrieved April 7, 2009.
10. Alice Upside Down, Alice Upside Down the Movie (Official Website), Retrieved April 6, 2009.
11. Lucas Stephen Grabeel (writer) – You Got It, ASCAP.com, Retrieved April 6, 2009.
12. Lucas Grabeel – You Got It – Single, iTunes, Retrieved April 6, 2009.
13. Lucas Grabeel – Trash Talkin' (Fan Upload), YouTube.com, Retrieved April 5, 2009.
14. Sony does Japanese 'Musical', Variety, October 30, 2007; Retrieved April 6, 2009.
15. Our Male Pop Rookies Plan Music-Industry And Hollywood Takeover In 2009, MTV, January 13, 2009; Retrieved April 6, 2009.
16. Dancing Ninja, Internet Movie Database, Retrieved April 7, 2009.
17. The Fantasticks, Reprise.org, Retrieved April 6, 2009.
18. The Brothers Gershwin: George & Ira – The 25th Annual Southland Theatre Artists Goodwill Event (S.T.A.G.E.) Archived April 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Stage LA, Retrieved April 6, 2009.
19. Recording of 'I Can't Be Bothered Now', YouTube.com, ; Retrieved April 6, 2009.
20. Two Switched at Birth teens fuel new ABC Family drama Zap2it.com, Retrieved June 27, 2011.
21. "TWIST Chats with Lucas Grabeel!". Twist. Archived from the original on June 3, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
22. 14341 Archived April 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, 14341.com, Retrieved April 6, 2009.
23. Lucas Grabeel & 14341 Productions Interview, Popstar.com, February 9, 2009; Retrieved April 7, 2009.
24. "Lucas Grabeel (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved January 18, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
25. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
26. "Sunshine – EP by Lucas Grabeel". iTunes US. Apple. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
27. "High School Musical cast Album & Song Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
28. "The ARIA Report: Issue 981 (Week Commencing 15 December 2008)" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 19, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
29. "Canadian Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2009.
30. Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK: E-40 – E-Z Rollers". Zobbel.de. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
31. ""You Got It" by Lucas Grabeel". iTunes US. Apple. January 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
32. ""135n8" by Lucas Grabeel". iTunes US. Apple. January 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
33. Peak chart positions for singles and other charted songs in Australia:

    • "We're All in This Together": "The ARIA Report: Issue 869 (Week Commencing 30 October 2006)" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 19, 2006. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
    • "Fabulous": "The ARIA Report: Issue 927 (Week Commencing 10 December 2007)" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 19, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
    • "A Night to Remember": "The ARIA Report: Issue 981 (Week Commencing 15 December 2008)" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 19, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
34. Peak chart positions for singles in the United Kingdom:

    • "What I've Been Looking For" and "Bop to the Top": "The Official UK Singles Chart for the week ending January 13, 2007". ChartsPlus (281). Milton Keynes: IQ Ware Ltd: 3.
    • "Fabulous" and "You Are the Music in Me": "The Official UK Singles Chart for the week ending October 6, 2007". ChartsPlus (319). Milton Keynes: IQ Ware Ltd: 2.
    • "What Time Is It?", "All for One", "Stick to the Status Quo" and "We're All in This Together": "The Official Charts Company – Cast of High School Musical discography". The Official Charts Company.
    • "I Want It All":"The Official UK Singles Chart for the week ending November 1, 2008". ChartsPlus (375). Liverpool: UKChartPlus: 2.
35. "RIAA – Gold & Platinum Searchable Database – We're All in This Together". Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2012.

External links

Media related to Lucas Grabeel at Wikimedia Commons

• Lucas Grabeel at IMDb