Merrick McCartha


Merrick McCartha is an American actor who appeared on television shows such as All American '', Countdown, Criminal Minds, Rebel and Unstable. His film credits include Failure!, Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea, If You Should Leave Before Me, and The Playground''.

Personal life

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. In 1990, McCartha was a student and part-time waiter when he helped judge a meatloaf cook-off. 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.

Career

In 2011, McCartha was runner-up in a Backstage actors pitch contest that received over 100 submissions. In 2017, he was cast in the San Diego International Fringe Festival and portrayed Deacon Avery Silver in Rebel by producer John Singleton for the BET Network. McCartha was cast in the film Anatomy of an Antihero: Redemption in 2018 and as Robert Hicks in All American in 2021.
In 2023, he became eligible for an Emmy for his role in House of Payne, co-starred with Ted Raimi in Alex Kahuam's crime comedy film Failure! which premiered at FrightFest, and appeared in Tony Olmos' microbudget horror satire film Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea.
In 2025, McCartha was cast as the recurring character District Attorney Grayson Valwell in the television show Countdown, and co-starred in the Andersons' debut film If You Should Leave Before Me, which premiered at Raindance Film Festival.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2010KingBreakerClean Team
2017The PlaygroundGrandison
2018Anatomy of an Antihero: RedemptionDaniel BrownFeaturing Eric Roberts, Catriona MacColl and Robert Wall
2019Borrowed TimeDr. Daniel Brown
2020Skin: The MovieHitchcock
2020Twisted TwinDetective Fisher
2022Senior YearPrincipal Young
2023Failure!Mr. Serge
2023Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink TeaMartin
2024The ResellersRoger Martin
2025If You Should Leave Before MeLorneRaindance Film Festival premiere

YearTitleRoleNotes
2008Just a ManJoe Beedle
2010The Heiress LethalJohnny Loveselected for 2011 Cannes Film Festival
2011What's Your Fantasy?Unknown
2014The Case of EvilDeke Williams
2015Things HappenJ.D.
2021Ira AldridgeIra Aldridgealso co-writer and executive producer
2023The Last ButterfliesReporter
2024The Risk RuleRobert Chalk
2024My Superhero RoommateMike

Accolades