Lucas Grabeel

Lucas Grabeel is an American actor, singer, dancer, songwriter, director and producer. As a performer, he is best known for his role as Ryan Evans in the "High School Musical" film series and as Ethan Dalloway in the third and fourth installments of the "Halloweentown" series: "Halloweentown High" and "Return to Halloweentown." He also appears as Toby Kennish in the ABC Family drama "Switched at Birth."

An active performer from the time he was young, Grabeel sang and played drums with church groups, appeared in numerous musical productions throughout his school years and was a member of the varsity choir at Kickapoo High School. His wholesome, All-American look and his enthusiasm led to an uncommonly quick rise in Hollywood. Grabeel landed his first TV commercial gig shortly after arriving in L.A. and his first acting role came a year later in "Halloweentown High," the third feature in the immensely popular "Halloweentown" original movie series from the Disney Channel.

A solid run of guest television appearances followed, including turns on "Boston Legal," "Veronica Mars" and "Smallville," where he portrayed the young, bald Lex Luthor. But it was Grabeel's return to the squeaky clean Disney fold that transformed him into a teen idol with his role in the runaway hit TV movie, "High School Musical," a modern musical take on classic cross-tribal love stories like "Romeo & Juliet" and "Westside Story." His role as the deeply loyal (and slightly slower) twin brother of villainous drama queen Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale) was not the largest in size, but Grabeel lent a light comedic touch to the character and shined in his four musical numbers, especially "Bop to the Top," a Latin-tinged duet with Tisdale that showed off his dancing skills.

"High School Musical 2" debuted on Disney in August of 2007 and broke all records to become the most watched cable television event in history, drawing 17 million viewers. Grabeel found himself on the music charts again with his appearance on the movie's No. 1 soundtrack. The in-demand pop sensation began to field offers outside the Mouse universe, and in 2007 co-starred in "Alice Upside Down," an adaptation of the popular coming-of-age book series.

In the fall of 2008, Grabeel reprised Ryan Evans in the first "HSM" theatrical release, "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," a bigger budget version of the small screen hits that retained every bit of wholesome sincerity right down to the G rating. Ready to graduate from high school at last, 24-year-old Grabeel followed up with a bold departure - a supporting role in "Milk." He further explored new cinematic territory with a co-starring role opposite David Hasselhoff in the action comedy "Beverly Hills Ninja 2."

In the summer of 2011, Grabeel appeared in the ABC Family drama "Switched at Birth" in which he plays the brother of one of the two girls who were mistakenly switched in the hospital at birth.