Merrick McCartha | |
|---|---|
 McCartha in 2019 | |
| Born | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Known for | |
| Notable credits |
|
| Awards | List of Awards |
Merrick McCartha is an American actor who appeared on television shows such as All American, Criminal Minds , Rebel and Unstable . His film credits include Anatomy of an Antihero: Redemption, Failure! , Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea and The Playground .
McCartha grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He discovered he had a knack for performance in elementary school but his parents, who were police officers, did not want him to take on acting as a career. [1] In 1990, McCartha was a student and part-time waiter when he helped judge a meatloaf cook-off. [2] [3] He attended Cass Technical High School and pursued an engineering career after college. He later took acting classes and signed with an agency in Los Angeles, California. [1]
In 2011, McCartha was runner-up in a Backstage actors pitch contest that received over 100 submissions. [4] In 2017, he was cast in the San Diego International Fringe Festival [5] and portrayed Deacon Avery Silver in Rebel by producer John Singleton for the BET Network. [6] McCartha was cast in the film Anatomy of an Antihero: Redemption in 2018 [7] and as Robert Hicks in All American in 2021. [1]
In 2023, he became eligible for an Emmy for his role in House of Payne , [8] co-starred with Ted Raimi in the film Failure! [9] [10] which premiered at FrightFest, [11] and appeared in the film Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea with Randy Davison. [12]
| Year | Title | Role | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Scandal | Defense Lobbyist | "Icarus" [13] |
| 2012-2015 | Criminal Minds | Mayor / Anesthesiologist | 2 episodes [13] |
| 2015 | The Young and the Restless | Doctor | [13] |
| 2016 | The Fosters | Angry Dad | "Trust" [13] |
| Goliath | Red Emerson | "Pride and Prejudice" [13] | |
| 2017 | Rebel | Deacon Avery Silver | "Partners" [13] |
| Lethal Weapon | IA Agent #2 | "El Gringo Loco" [13] | |
| Scorpion | Jeremy Pratt | "Nuke Kids on the Block" [13] | |
| The Orville | Scientist | "Majority Rule" [13] | |
| 2018 | The Bold and the Beautiful | Cop #1 | [13] |
| Dear White People | Older Man | "Volume 2: Chapter VII" [13] | |
| Get Shorty | Detective Torann | "And What Have We Learned?" [13] | |
| 2019 | One Day at a Time | Dean | "Ghosts" [13] |
| NCIS | Dr. Eugene Pierce | "Perennial" [13] | |
| This Is Us | Lester | "The Club" [13] | |
| 2020 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Frank Murwin | "Manhunter" [13] |
| General Hospital | Cliff Simpson | 2 episodes | |
| Broke | Mario Jones | "Jobs" | |
| Saved by the Bell | Angry Reporter #2 | "Pilot" [13] | |
| 2020-2021 | All American | Robert Hicks | 4 episodes [1] |
| 2021 | B Positive | Guy | "Recessive Gina" [13] |
| 9-1-1 | Aldous Pate | "Survivors" | |
| Curb Your Enthusiasm | Cop | "The Five-Foot Fence" [13] | |
| 2022 | The Villains of Valley View | Officer Collins | "Trust No One" |
| 2023 | Act Your Age | Marcus | "Fire and Desire" |
| Unstable | Ted | 2 episodes [13] | |
| House of Payne | Frederick | "Encouragement" [13] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Just a Man | Joe Beedle | Short film |
| 2010 | The Heiress Lethal | Johnny Love | Short film selected for 2011 Cannes Film Festival [14] |
| 2011 | What's Your Fantasy? | Unknown | Short film |
| 2014 | The Case of Evil | Deke Williams | Short film [15] [16] |
| 2015 | Things Happen | J.D. | Short film [17] |
| 2017 | The Playground | Grandison | [17] [18] |
| 2018 | Anatomy of an Antihero: Redemption | Daniel Brown | Featuring Eric Roberts, Catriona MacColl and Robert Wall |
| 2019 | Borrowed Time | Dr. Daniel Brown | [17] |
| 2020 | Skin: The Movie | Hitchcock | [17] |
| Twisted Twin | Detective Fisher | [17] | |
| 2021 | Ira Aldridge | Ira Aldridge | Short film, also co-writer and executive producer [20] |
| 2022 | Senior Year | Principal Young | [21] [13] |
| 2023 | Failure! | Mr. Serge | [22] [23] [24] [25] |
| The Last Butterflies | Reporter | Short film directed by Patrick Rea and featuring Cooper Andrews [26] | |
| Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea | Martin | Featuring Pierce Wallace and Nick Young [27] [12] |
| Event | Year | Film | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 Hour Film Project | 2008 | Just a Man | Best Ensemble, San Diego | Won | |
| 2010 | The Heiress Lethal | Best Ensemble, San Diego | Won | [28] | |
| 2011 | What's Your Fantasy? | Best Ensemble, San Diego | Won | ||
| San Diego Film Awards | 2014 | The Heiress Lethal | Best Actor | Won | [29] |
| 2016 | Assessing Alan | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | ||
| An Anti-Hero Production Genre Fest | 2015 | The Case of Evil | Best Actor in a Grindhouse Film | Won | |
| Genre Fest | 2015 | The Case of Evil | Best Actor | Won | |
| Zed Fest Film Festival | 2015 | The Case of Evil | Outstanding Acting Performance | Won | |
| Blast Off Film Festival | 2019 | Skin: The Movie | Best Acting Ensemble | Nominated | |
| Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema | 2020 | Skin: The Movie | Best Ensemble | Nominated |
The San Diego International Film Festival is an independent film festival in San Diego, California, produced by the non-profit San Diego Film Foundation. The main event has traditionally been held annually in the autumn at venues in the Gaslamp Quarter, La Jolla and Balboa Park.
The Playground is a 2017 thriller film directed by Edreace Purmul. The film was written by Purmul, Ramona Frye and Dean Mounir. It stars Myles Cranford, Merrick McCartha, Shane P. Allen, Christopher Salazar and Ghadir Mounib. The film won Best Narrative Feature at the San Diego Film Awards and was distributed by Indie Rights.
Randy Lee Davison is an American actor who appeared in the films The United States vs. Billie Holiday as Joseph McCarthy, Mank, Not This Part of the World and Touch. In the 1990s, Davison appeared in the television show America's Funniest People as Edith Bunker and as Senex in Boise State University's production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
Brian Patrick Butler is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He is known for creating Friend of the World and appeared in the films Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea, South of 8, Thane of East County and We All Die Alone.
The Oceanside International Film Festival (OIFF) is an annual film festival based in Oceanside, a town in North County of San Diego. It was founded in 2009 by the Oceanside Cultural Foundation.
Ray Gallardo is an American film director and cinematographer known for his direction of Cafe Con Leche, Callejero, Above the Tin, Entrenched: Prologue and his cinematography in Friend of the World,The Fifth of November and Touch.
Skin: The Movie is a 2018 American comedy film written and directed by Ronn Kilby. The film stars Mark Christopher Lawrence, Diane Sargent, Michelle Way, Merrick McCartha and "Shotgun Tom" Kelly.
Karenssa LeGear is an American actress, filmmaker and SAG/AFTRA member who appeared in musical theatre plays including Les Misérables as Cosette and Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream. She has Best Actress nominations at Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema for Carving a Life and at GI Film Festival San Diego for Refuge.
Jonathan Hammond is an American film director, film editor, screenwriter and film producer known for Expect A Miracle: Finding Light in the Darkness of a Pandemic, Isabel, Kathy and We All Die Alone.
Hush is a 2016 horror drama short film written and directed by Michael Lewis Foster. The film stars Rachel Barker, Luke Bedsole, Eric Casalini and Ghadir Mounib. It screened at San Diego International Film Festival and Catalina Film Festival and won awards at Oceanside International Film Festival and Horrible Imaginings Film Festival. The film was distributed by Seed&Spark and Bloody Disgusting.
Vinny Curran is an American actor who starred in the films Resolution, Everybody Dies by the End and appeared in Spring, The Endless, Something in the Dirt and Machine Head.
The Case of Evil is a 2014 horror drama short film written and directed by Jana and Neal Hallford. The film stars Merrick McCartha and Rebecca Sausedo. It premiered at Horrible Imaginings Film Festival on October 12, 2014.
The Heiress Lethal, also known as The Fatal Heir, is a 2010 noir comedy short film directed by Michael Brueggemeyer and written by Marianne Bates. The film stars Merrick McCartha, Cristyn Chandler, Jim Teiper and Ron Christopher Jones. It won Best Film at 48 Hour Film Project San Diego and screened at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival after qualifying through Filmapalooza at the Miami International Film Festival. The film was later nominated for a Pacific Southwest Emmy Award at National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Failure! is a 2023 Mexican-American crime comedy film written and directed by Alex Kahuam. The film stars Ted Raimi, Merrick McCartha, Noel Douglas Orput, Melissa Diaz and Christin Muuli.
Digital Gym Cinema is a theater and lounge founded by Media Arts Center San Diego and screens lesser known independent films in San Diego, California.
Anne Beth Accomando Weidinger is a film and theatre critic for KPBS, who formerly worked as an arts reporter for NPR, XETV and The Star-News. She hosts the Cinema Junkie podcast and has curated several film events throughout San Diego County. Accomando edited the 1991 to 1992 sequels of the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes franchise and is part of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists and Critics' Choice Movie Awards. Her work has been distributed through several publications, including RogerEbert.com.
