Joey McIntyre

The boy who replaced one of the Wahlbergs

Joey McIntyre was twelve years old when he walked into a Boston studio to change the course of commercial pop. The year was 1985. Maurice Starr was looking for a replacement for Mark Wahlberg on a project that did not yet have a final name. He found a kid from Needham whose voice sounded far more mature than his boyish face.

Fame is an engine that burns through its parts very fast.

That teenager became the youngest member of New Kids on the Block. But he was no mere marketing product designed to sell lunchboxes. The group's massive success brought overwhelming pressure, which McIntyre handled by retreating into music. Before turning twenty, he had already sold millions of records and filled stadiums across half the world.

After the band broke up in 1994, many expected him to fade into the oblivion of former pop idols. That didn't happen. The young man decided his path didn't end on adult contemporary charts. In 1995, he made his film debut in The Fantasticks (though the release was delayed until 2000 due to distribution issues).

And his commitment to acting was serious.

In 1999, he personally financed the recording of Stay the Same. It was a risky move meant to prove he could survive without a major label machine behind him. The album sold over a million copies and restored the relevance he needed to choose his own projects.

The refuge of the stage and live performance

Broadway doesn't forgive mistakes.

McIntyre understood that to be respected as an actor, he had to step onto the stage. In 2004, he took on the role of Fiyero in the musical Wicked. It was a smart move because it helped him shake off the teen idol label. New York critics welcomed his presence, and that opened the doors of national television for him.

In 2002, he played Jon Anthony on the series Boston Public. That teacher role was his first serious foray into television drama. But the actor always kept one foot in comedy. In 2013, he appeared in the movie The Heat alongside Sandra Bullock (playing one of the Mullins brothers).

Living off the past is a dangerous temptation.

So he alternated reunion tours with his former band and more personal projects. In 2017, he created and starred in the series Return of the Mac for Pop TV. It was a parody of his own life, poking fun at the struggles of a star trying to reclaim his place in the industry. The series lasted only one season, but it helped repair his public image.

Surviving the streaming industry

McIntyre has managed to age on camera without losing touch with his original audience. In 2019, he returned to Broadway to star in Waitress as Dr. Pomatter. It was a period of intense physical and vocal activity that proved his ability to carry long-running shows.

Because musical audiences are much more demanding than pop concert crowds. After that phase, he focused on productions for television platforms and family films. In 2021, he appeared in The Real Housewives of the North Pole for Peacock.

In 2024, he starred in the TV movie Jingle Bell Love, playing a widower who returns to his hometown. The shoot took place entirely on location in Canada, produced by Johnson Production Group.

The distribution deal for this film included its broadcast on the Roku Channel during the winter season of that same year.