Carlos Pena (born August 15, 1989) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for starring on the Nickelodeon series Big Time Rush as Carlos.
Pena was born in Columbia, Missouri. He has a younger brother named Brendan (born 1996) and a younger sister Isabella (born 2004). He was raised in Weston, Florida. His father is from the Dominican Republic and his mother is Spanish and Venezuelan. He attended Sagemont Upper School.
His first major role was a guest shot at age 15 on ER, followed later that year by guest-starring roles on Judging Amy, Summerland, and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. He appeared in local productions of Grease and Man of La Mancha. He also had a role in the American Heritage School, where he attended before leaving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, production of Titanic. During his run in Titanic he fell in love with singing and dancing. While still in high school, Pena appeared in television commercials for the Super Soaker brand recreational water gun, and his image even appeared on the toy's packaging.
In 2007, he appeared as a contestant on MTV's Making Menudo series. Pena and his mother commuted between South Florida and Hollywood, California, to accommodate his television acting roles, and he was homeschooled during this time. He returned to The Sagemont School where he starred in shows like "Grease", "Les Miserable", "Little Shop of Horrors" (which landed him a South Florida Cappie nomination for Lead Actor in a Musical), and "Once Upon a Mattress". He received his high school diploma from The Sagemont School in 2008. After graduating from high school, he attended the Boston Conservatory.
Pena was studying music at the Boston Conservatory when his manager urged him to audition for Big Time Rush. Although he was reluctant to do so, he submitted an audition tape and won the role a month later. Pena moved to Hollywood in August 2009.
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