The best Ross Lynch movies and TV shows detail an intriguing and surprising career for an actor who started his career with the Disney Channel. Born in 1995 in Denver, Colorado, Ross Lynch got his big break in a few short-lived Disney Channel shows and pilots as a child actor. It wasn’t until 2011 that his life as a professional actor truly took off, however, as it was then that he landed the role of Austin Moon in thepopular Disney Channel sitcomAustin & Ally.
Since debuting as Austin Moon, Ross Lynch appeared in multiple Disney Channel original movies. It wasn’t until he parted ways with the House of Mouse that he began to claim recognition in his own right, however. It was starring in the movieMy Friend Dahmerand the Netflix showThe Chilling Adventures Of Sabrinathat truly put Ross Lynch on the map, with fans of both wondering where else they can see the actor (and, in many cases, being surprised at the journey he took prior to landing roles in shows with such dark and horror-adjacent themes).
Muppets Most Wanted
Cast
A sequel to 2011’s The Muppets, Muppets Most Wanted is a musical comedy film that sees the titular Jim Henson Muppets on the run from the law in Europe when a criminal genius named Constantine, who looks exactly like Kermit the Frog, replaces him after completing a major heist. The movie follows the Kermits as one tries to hide amongst his innocent friends, and the other tries to escape prison and clear his name.
2014’sMuppets Most Wantedisn’t the worst movie featuring Ross Lynch when considered as a film in its own right, but it does feature only a minor early-career appearance from theChilling Adventures Of SabrinaandMy Friend Dahmerstar.Ross Lynch appears as an extra in the sequel to 2011’sThe Muppets,appearing as a young florist and “nerd teenage kid”, respectively.
It’s interesting that Ross Lynch had such a minor role inMuppets Most Wanted.The movie was released in 2014, and by this point, Lynch already had prominent roles in the likes ofAustin & Ally, Teen Beach Movie,and had voiced Jack Russell (AKAWerewolf By Night) in an episode ofUltimate Spider-Man.However, Ross Lynch was a member of Disney’s stable of young actors at this point in his career, so it’s entirely possible the House of Mouse (who were also behindMuppets Most Wanted) chose him as an extra because they knew he had the singing ability required for the musical heist comedy.
Ross Lynch Voices Piers
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Of all the Ross Lynch movies and TV shows, the 2016 English dub of animated French-Canadian movieLa Bataille Géante De Boules De Neige(released asSnowtime!in the US andCleaoin the UK) is perhaps the least noteworthy.Ross Lynch voices Piers in the English version of the movie, and, alongside Sandra Oh, was the only cast member to be noted on the poster for the dubbed version.Interestingly, the main character, Luke, was voiced by Angela Galuppo, though her name didn’t feature in any of the promotional material
The film itself is an adequate animated winter movie with an admittedly charming visual style.Snowtime!focuses on a group of kids in a small village who decide to have a snowball fight of epic proportions throughout the duration of their winter break. The winning team is the one that controls the large and intricate snow-fort by the end of the holiday period. However, the competition quickly spirals out of control, leading to a full-blown feud between the two teams of children.
6Teen Beach 2 (2015)
Ross Lynch Plays Brady
Ross Lynch started his career working with Disney, and one of his most notable projects with the House of Mouse (excluding playing Austin Moon inAustin & Ally) was as Brady in the Disney Channel originalsTeen Beach MovieandTeen Beach 2.Of the pair,Teen Beach 2is inarguably the inferior, though it was the first sequel to aDisney Channel Original Moviesince 2010’sCamp Rock 2: The Final Jam.
Teen Beach 2 sees Ross Lynch return as Brady. Like the first movie, the plot ofTeen Beach 2focuses on Brady and his girlfriend Mack (Maia Mitchell).They find themselves more-or-less rehashing the plot ofTeen Beach Movie,in which they and their friends become stuck in the world of Brady’s favorite movie, a fictional parody ofWest Side StorycalledWet Side Story,which is more-or-lessWest Side Storybut with surfboards.
5Status Update (2018)
Ross Lynch Plays Kyle Moore
2018’sStatus Updateis a rom-com directed by Scott Speer that released direct to on-demand. Ross Lynch leads the cast as Kyle Moore, and the film suits the actor well since he is, once again, playing a teen who finds himself mixed up in magical schenanigans of the likes ofTeen Beach Movie.While the movie itself isn’t anything spectacular, the plot does at least offer an intriguing premise (even if it does sound like the plotof aGoosebumpsnovelaimed at Gen Z readers).
Ross Lynch’s character Kyle is an unpopular high-schooler who finds a magical app that means all his social media updates become true. This, of course, means that he has a whale of a time making his wildest dreams come true, only for everything to come crashing down so he (and viewers) can learn the “be careful what you wish for"moral message.Notably, the cast ofStatus Updatealso features a handful of other recognizable names, such as Olivia Holt ofRunawaysfame and Harvey Guillén fromWhat We Do In The Shadows.
Teen Beach Movie
Teen Beach Movie is a Disney Channel musical film where teenage surfers Mack and Brady accidentally transport themselves into a 1960s beach movie. There, they find themselves entangled in a rivalry between bikers and surfers, jeopardizing the plot of the film and their own chances of returning home. The film stars Ross Lynch and Maia Mitchell and features a mix of modern and nostalgic musical numbers.
2013’sTeen Beach Moviewas the first Ross Lynch movie which saw the actor in a cast-leading role. Ross Lynch plays Brady, and the film is the typical musical teen rom-com that the Disney Channel is known for when it comes to their original movies. Brady is a high-schooler enjoying life with his girlfriend Mack in Waikiki. However,when Mack decides to surf a 40ft wave on a magical surfboard, she and Brady find themselves transported to the world of the fictional movieWet Side Story.
The movie did surprisingly well with critics, though the response was far from universally positive. Many pointed out thatTeen Beach Moviefelt like Disney trying to recreate the success ofHigh School Musical.However, having the two lead characters transported to an alternate, fictional reality was definitely an intriguing twist, and helped the plot from feeling formulaic.
3Austin & Ally (2011-2016)
Ross Lynch Plays Austin Moon
Of all the Ross Lynch movies and TV shows, there are arguably only three that have defined the actor’s career (so far, at least). The first of the trio is the Disney sitcomAustin & Ally,in which Lynch plays Austin Moon, one half of the titular duo. The show draws its comedy from a personality clash. Both Austin and Ally are musicians, though their personalities are wildly different. Austin is outgoing and approaches life with a fun-loving spirit, whereas his counterpart, Ally (Laura Malano), is introverted and prone to stage-fright.
Austin & Allyran for four seasons between 2011 and 2016. It was arguably a success for Ross Lynch and Disney, netting several awards including a Nikelodeon Kid’s Choice Award for Favorite TV Show.Austin Moon was also a popular character in his own right, and he appeared in several other Disney Channel shows, including Jessie in 2012 andGirl Meets Worldin 2015.
My Friend Dahmer
My Friend Dahmer is a biographical drama directed by Marc Meyers, exploring the high school years of infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Starring Ross Lynch as Dahmer, the film delves into his troubled adolescence and strained family relationships, providing insight into the factors that shaped his later actions. The narrative is taken from the graphic novel written by Dahmer’s real-life friend, John “Derf” Backderf.
The best Ross Lynch movie is, without any shred of doubt, 2017’sMy Friend Dahmer.The biopic/psychological drama was directed by Marc Meyers, and to say that Ross Lynch outshined every single one of his previous performances is an understatement.Ross Lynch played Jeffrey Dahmer inMy Friend Dahmer,and his performance was — in no uncertain terms — brilliant.
Ross Lynch played Jeffrey Dahmer as a highschooler in the years leading up to his killing spree starting in 1978. It’s an incredibly complex role that required a level of nuance that Ross Lynch had previously never shown, and the actor went above-and-beyond. Ross Lynch’s performance inMy Friend Dahmerreceived him no shortage of praise from critics, and his portrayal as one of America’s most notorious serial killers is second perhaps onlyto Evan Peters' renditioninMonster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Based on the Archie comic series, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a Netflix supernatural horror series that follows Sabrina Spellman, a young half-witch, half-human that is coming into her powers in her teenage years. To protect her friends, family, and the world itself, Sabrina will have to harness her powers and ignore the calls from her darker side to embrace her evil potential fully and instead use her powers for good. Despite the series cancellation in 2020, the show’s story was continued in The Occult World of Sabrina, a comic book serial.
Of all the Ross Lynch movies and TV shows, his role as Harvey Kinkle in Netflix’sThe Chilling Adventures Of Sabrinais arguably the one that gained him the most fans.Harvey is Sabrina’s boyfriendwhen the show begins, though he is also descended from witch hunters (which grants him skills he, much to his family’s chagrin, uses to help Sabrina rather than hunt her).Lynch’s Harvey Kinkle was a staple of the series, and his presence helped ensure the remake ofSabrina The Teenage Witchhad plenty of dramatic and emotional moments.
Next to Kiernan Shipka as the titular witch, Sabrina, Ross Lynch is perhaps the leading cast member ofThe Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,and across its 36 episodes the actor got plenty of chances to shine — and stepped up to the plate for all of them. It’s surprising thatRoss Lynchhasn’t starred in anything sinceThe Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,as, alongsideMy Friend Dahmer,the first roles of his post-Disney career has shown just how talented he truly is.
