Gary Michael "Garrett" Clayton (born March 19, 1991) is an American actor and singer. He is known for portraying Tanner in the 2013 Disney Channel movie Teen Beach Movie and its 2015 sequel Teen Beach 2, and other film, television, and stage roles.

Garrett Clayton
Clayton at the 2015 MTV Movie Awards
Born
Gary Michael Clayton

(1991-03-19) March 19, 1991 (age 33)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
Years active2008–present
Spouse
Blake Knight
(m. 2021)

Life and career edit

Gary Michael Clayton[1] was born March 19, 1991,[2] in Dearborn, Michigan. He has Lebanese heritage.[3] He began acting at Crestwood High School in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, performing in many of the drama club's productions. He later attended Oakland University, where he studied musical theater.

After being told by casting directors that his name "sounded too old", he adopted the stage name of Garrett Clayton.[1]

In 2010, he made appearances on Days of Our Lives and Shake It Up. In December 2012, he appeared in the Lifetime movie Holiday Spin, co-starring Ralph Macchio, as Blake, a rebellious teen forced to live with his father after his mother is killed in a car accident.[4]

He was cast in 2013 in the role of Tanner in Disney's musical Teen Beach Movie, playing a cool but vacuous surfer who is "a mix between Frankie Avalon and Link from Hairspray".[5] The film was directed by Jeffrey Hornaday and was filmed in Puerto Rico and was first broadcast in July 2013. It co-stars Ross Lynch, Maia Mitchell, and Grace Phipps.

He had a recurring role in the latter half of the first season of The Fosters.[6] In 2016, he portrayed gay porn star Brent Corrigan in the film King Cobra, with James Franco and Christian Slater, and played the role of Link Larkin in the NBC television broadcast of Hairspray Live![7] He starred as Brady Mannion in the horror-thriller film Don't Hang Up, which was released in theaters in February 2017.[8][9] Also in 2017, Clayton appeared on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse as Luke alongside Al Pacino and Judith Light in a six-week run of Dotson Rader's play God Looked Away, about the later life of Tennessee Williams.[10]

Personal life edit

In 2018, Clayton revealed that he was gay and that he had been in a long-term relationship with boyfriend Blake Knight since 2011.[11][a]

In January 2019, Clayton announced that he and Knight had become engaged a year prior.[12] In September 2021, the couple married at an outdoor, garden party themed wedding in Los Angeles, which was officiated by Clayton's King Cobra co-star Alicia Silverstone.[13]

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Title Role Notes
2008 The Tower Zombie
2009 Magic Mentah Sander
2010 Virginia Mormon boy #2
2011 Love, Gloria Tad
2012 The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure Diner dancer
2016 Welcome to Willits Zack
2016 Don't Hang Up Brady Mannion
King Cobra Brent Corrigan
Alien Hunter Zack
2018 Between Worlds[14] Mike
The Last Breakfast Club[15] Brian
Reach[16] Steven
2019 Peel Chad
2021 The Adventures of Bunny Bravo Papaya
2023 The Mattachine Family Jake
TBA Our Man Matthew Post-production

Television edit

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Days of Our Lives Eli Episode: "29 April 2010"
2010 Shake It Up Dylan Episode: "Party It Up"
2012 Holiday Spin Blake Television film
2013 The Client List Billy Episode: "What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am"
2013 Jessie Earl Episode: "The Blind Date, the Cheapskate, and the Primate"
2013 Teen Beach Movie Tanner Television film
2014; 2016 The Fosters Chase Recurring role (season 1); guest role (season 3; episode: "The Show")
2015 100 Things to Do Before High School Stephen Powers Episode: "Survive the Virus Attack Trapped in the Last Home Base Station on Earth Thing"
2015 Teen Beach 2 Tanner Television film
2016 The Real O'Neals Ricky Episode: "The Real Lent"
2016 Hairspray Live! Link Larkin Television special
2020 World's Funniest Animals Guest 1 episode
2022 The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder Dustan Lumberlake 3 episodes

Stage edit

Year Title Role
2014–2015; 2017 Sleeping Beauty and Her Winter Knight[17][18][19] Prince Phillip
2015 Cruel Intentions: The Musical[20] Greg
2017 God Looked Away[21] Luke
2019, 2022 It: A Musical Parody[22] Pennywise
2023 The Rocky Horror Show[23] Dr. Frank N. Furter

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ "When I read the script for REACH, I immediately knew it was a film I had to be a part of. I have personally dealt with suicide within my own family, intense bullying in high school, and – on top of it all – myself and the man I've been in a relationship with for a long time (@hrhblakeknight) have both experienced shootings within our hometown school systems, and have witnessed the heartache that takes place in affected communities after such tragic events." — Garrett Clayton[11]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Kaan, Gil (June 11, 2019). "Interview: The Hard Working Garrett Clayton On Friends, Giving His Heart & Doing What He Loves". Broadway World. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  2. ^ "Famous birthdays for March 19: Bruce Willis, Glenn Close". UPI. March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  3. ^ Clayton, Garrett [@garrettclayton1] (December 26, 2013). "@AmnehS14 I eat middle eastern food all the time. I'm Lebanese" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (June 4, 2012). "Ralph Macchio to star in Lifetime Christmas movie". Exclusive. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  5. ^ Takeda-Morrison, Marsha (November 9, 2012). "Garrett Clayton takes us on a Holiday Spin". Celebrity Teen Scoop. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  6. ^ Ng, Philiana (October 14, 2013). "Teen Beach Movie star joins ABC Family's The Fosters". Exclusive. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  7. ^ Gioia, Michael (December 7, 2016). "'Hairspray Live!' hits television December 7". Playbill. Archived from the original on December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  8. ^ Commonwealth, Thomas (October 30, 2013). "Joe Johnson begs you – Don't Hang Up". Exclusive. The Tracking Board. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  9. ^ "Don't Hang Up (2017)". Financial information. The Numbers. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  10. ^ "God Looked Away from Garrett Clayton, but can you?". Instinct. February 12, 2017. Archived from the original on October 12, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Clayton, Garrett (2018). "With the release of my new movie REACH coming up, I thought it was important to explain why I took on this project in the first place. ..."". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  12. ^ "Disney Channel star Garrett Clayton reveals he's engaged to boyfriend Blake Knight". People. January 10, 2019.
  13. ^ Falcone, Dana Rose (September 8, 2021). "Alicia Silverstone officiates Teen Beach movie star Garrett Clayton's wedding to Blake Knight". People. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  14. ^ "Nicolas Cage To Topline Indie Thriller 'Between Worlds' From Director Maria Pulera". Deadline. August 23, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  15. ^ ""The Last Breakfast Club" Gives Classic Film Lots of New Shine". LA Ex Cites. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  16. ^ "Trio To Topline High School Bully Dramedy 'Reach'". Deadline. April 5, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  17. ^ "Sleeping Beauty and Her Winter Knight enters final week at Pasadena Playhouse". Broadway World. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  18. ^ "Sleeping Beauty and Her Winter Knight adds ½ performance at Pasadena Playhouse". Broadway World. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  19. ^ "Disney's Garrett Clayton to reprise tole in Sleeping Beauty and Her Winter Knight at Theatre Under the STars". Broadway World. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  20. ^ "Cruel Intentions at Rockwell – a true homage to the '90s". BWW reviews. Broadway World. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  21. ^ "God Looked Away groomed for Broadway with Al Pacino as Tennessee Williams". New Now Next. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  22. ^ "Actor-singer Garrett Clayton talks It: A Musical Parody". Yahoo News. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  23. ^ "'It's pretty special': Actor Garrett Clayton talks preparation for OFC Creations' Rocky Horror Picture Show". Rochester First. Retrieved October 19, 2023.

External links edit