Lucas Alan Cruikshank (born August 29, 1993) is an American YouTuber and actor who created and portrayed the character Fred Figglehorn and the associated Fred series for his channel on the video-hosting website YouTube in late 2006. These videos are centered on Fred Figglehorn, a fictional six-year-old who has a dysfunctional home life and "anger management issues".
Early life Lucas Alan Cruikshank was born on August 29, 1993, and raised in Columbus, Nebraska, where he attended Lakeview High School. He is the son of Molly Jeanne (née Duffy) and Dave Alan Cruikshank.Freeman, Eric. (September 23, 2010) Fred a hit in TV movie . Columbustelegram.com. Retrieved August 20, 2012.. Feedagg.com (May 23, 2009). Retrieved August 20, 2012. He has five sisters and two brothers.Columbus' 'Fred' becomes an Internet star : The (402)/411 . Journalstar.com (October 6, 2008). Retrieved August 20, 2012.
Career
Fred
Cruikshank, while testing character ideas, created the Fred character in a Halloween video, and uploaded it to a YouTube channel that he had started with his two cousins. Upon the success of Fred, he started a video series, and set up the Fred channel in April 2008. By April 2009, the channel had over one million subscribers, making it the first YouTube channel to do so, and was the most-subscribed YouTube channel for a 318-day period from October 2008 to August 2009. In December 2009, Cruikshank filmed Fred: The Movie, which aired on Nickelodeon in September 2010. Nickelodeon created a franchise surrounding the character, and began producing the sequel in March 2011. Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred aired on October 22, 2011, also on Nickelodeon. In 2012, Fred: The Show, consisting of twenty-four 22-minute episodes, and a third movie called Fred 3: Camp Fred aired on Nickelodeon.
Sponsorship and appearances In the Fred series, Cruikshank promotes various products and movies. He is seen using a Zipit, as well as his own products and T-shirts. In addition to promoting his own movies and albums, Cruikshank has also promoted the movies City of Ember, Year One, and Adventures of Power, and the artist Kev Blaze, by featuring in his song "Watch How I Do This".
He made a guest appearance as both "Fred" and himself on Nickelodeon's iCarly in "iMeet Fred", which first aired on February 16, 2009.
Cruikshank appeared in the Hannah Montana episode "Come Fail Away", which aired December 6, 2009. He appeared at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards as well as the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards presenting awards to winners off-stage. In 2011, he appeared on the Cartoon Network Hall of Game Awards and in an episode of Supah Ninjas. In 2012 and 2013 he starred as the lead in the Nickelodeon television show Marvin Marvin, as an alien "teenage" boy adjusting to human life.
In 2017, Cruikshank stated that he was taking a hiatus from acting, although the decision was not by choice.
Other YouTube work Cruikshank was originally a part of JKL Productions, a group comprising twins Jon and Katie Smet and Lucas Cruikshank, their cousin. Cruikshank formally left the group and deleted his individual videos. In January 2009 he set up his own channel, called "lucas", in which he appeared as himself. Between 2013 and 2014, Cruikshank partnered with Jennifer Veal to produce a series of videos on the channel, which was renamed "Lucas and Jenny," adding to the duo's popularity. After Jenny left the channel in November 2014, Cruikshank reverted the channel name back to "lucas" and continued to release comedic travel content, paid celebrity Cameos reviews, food reviews, vlogs, and other YouTube trends. In April 2019, Cruikshank's channel name was changed to "Lucas". It currently has 3.38 million subscribers as of 2026 and maintains a monthly upload schedule.
Cruikshank made an appearance on Brandon Rogers' Four Million Subscriber Freakout video after the latter gained four million subscribers as of June 2018.
On June 13, 2026, Cruikshank (as Fred Figglehorn) appeared in the MrBeast video "50 YouTube Legends Fight For $1,000,000", a special celebrating MrBeast reaching 500 million subscribers. He was eliminated during the first phase of the competition.
Personal life Cruikshank came out publicly as gay in a YouTube video released August 20, 2013, saying, "I'm gay. I feel so weird saying it on camera. But my family and friends have known for like three years. I just haven't felt the need to announce it on the Internet." Cruikshank met his now-husband, Australian model Matthew Fawcus, "from afar" at a gay club, and the two were introduced by fellow YouTuber Kingsley. The pair began dating on March 18, 2013.
Filmography Internet Year Title Role Notes 2006–2014, 2020–2021 Fred Fred Figglehorn 2010 Annoying Orange Fred Figglehorn Episode: "Fred" 2012–2018 YouTubers React Himself 13 episodes 2013 The Flipside Henry Episode: "Me, Myself and My Conscience" 2014 Cute Combat Himself 8 episodes 2026 MrBeast Fred / Himself Episode: "50 YouTube Legends Fight For 1,000,000" Shrek 2 Retold
Television Year Title Role Notes 2009iCarly Fred Figglehorn / Himself Episode: "iMeet Fred" 2009Hannah Montana Kyle McIntyre Episode: "Come Fail Away" 2010 Fred: The Movie Fred Figglehorn / Derf Nrohelggif Television film 2011Supah Ninjas Spencer / Kickbutt Episode: "Kickbutt" 2011 Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred Fred Figglehorn / Derf Nrohelggif / Judy Television film 2012 Fred: The Show Fred Figglehorn Lead role 2012–2013Marvin Marvin Marvin Forman Lead role 2012 Fred 3: Camp Fred Fred Figglehorn Television film 2013Big Time Rush Himself Episode: "Big Time Cameo" 2013 Monsters vs. Aliens Smarty Voice; Episode: "Screaming Your Calls"
Discography Comedy albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chartpositions US US US It's Hackin' Christmaswith Fred Released: November 10, 2009 Formats: Digital download Label: Independent 8 24 13 Who's Ready toParty? Formats: Digital download Label: Collective Records 1 29 — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
Singles + List of singles, with selected chart positions Title Year Peak chartpositions Album US*"Christmas Cash" and "I Wanna Be a Celebrity": "Christmas is Creepy": US "Christmas Cash" 2009 22 5 "Christmas Is Creepy" 9 1 — 28 "I Wanna Be a Celebrity" 2010 11 —Who's Ready to Party "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
Other appearances Title Year Album "All Night"2021Mutants Vol.6: Home "The Climb"2022Best of Both Worldz
Awards and nominations Year Category Award Result2009Favorite User Generated VideoPeople's Choice Awards2009Choice Web StarTeen Choice Awards2010Choice Web StarTeen Choice Awards2010Iconic Web StarJ-14 Teen Icon Awards2013Favorite TV ActorKids' Choice Awards
References
External links