Maynard grew up in
New Carlisle,
Ohio, with one older and one younger sister named Brooke and Ashley respectively. His mother is a high school English teacher. He was a self-described "shy" child, whose dream was to become a
marine biologist. From 1993 to 1997 while in high school, Maynard joined the
Muse Machine where he starred in
Peter Pan,
The Wizard of Oz,
The Music Man,
Oliver and
Me and My Girl. After graduating in 2001, Maynard moved to
New York City where he worked as a doorman at the
Hudson Hotel for four months. His
Broadway debut was in 2002 in the musical
Mamma Mia!. In 2003 and 2004 he appeared in several stage productions, including
On the Record, and during that time he also worked shooting roles in the films
Palindromes,
Parents Wanted and
Red Doors. In February 2005 he landed a starring role in
Altar Boyz, a musical which achieved significant critical acclaim. Theater critic Charles Isherwood of
The New York Times wrote, "none grabs [the spotlight] quite as ferociously as Tyler Maynard... Mr. Maynard's deliciously overwrought performance is both an affectionate tribute to and a parody of
American Idol-style vocal histrionics. It typifies the sly manner in which the musical manages to exploit the appeal of the pop genre it's parodying even as it accentuates its silliness." Critic Jason Zinoman, also of the
Times, wrote, "In the original production, the charismatic Tyler Maynard received most of the critics' attention as the flamingly gay (even if he doesn't admit it) singer Mark." For his role as Mark, Maynard earned a
Drama Desk Award nomination, and won Outstanding Breakthrough Actor at the
Theatre World Awards. From August to October 2005, Maynard took a break from performing in
Altar Boyz to perform in the shows
Miracle Brothers and
The Great Big Radio Show!. Maynard resumed his performance in
Altar Boyz in January 2006. From 2008 to 2009, he played Flotsam in the original Broadway cast of
The Little Mermaid. In 2010, he played Chad in the off-Broadway musical
The Kid. Tyler Maynard is a member of the singing group,
The Broadway Boys. ==Filmography==