American actor and musician Carlos Pena Jr. is best known for playing “Carlos Garcia” in the Nickelodeon sitcom “Big Time Rush.” He was the host of the Webheads game show on Nickelodeon. In Columbia, Missouri, he was born. He attended “Sagemont Upper School” before transferring to “American Heritage School,” where he appeared in the theater company’s rendition of “Titanic.” He always had a passion for acting and eventually traveled to Los Angeles to pursue his goal. At the young age of 10, the well-known American medical drama “ER” gave him his big break. He began moving up the success ladder after getting roles in “Summerland” and “Judging Amy.” This enabled him to land a key part in “Big Time Rush.” He has also worked on movies including “Killing Hasselhoff,” “The Giant King,” and “Little Birds.” He soon developed an interest in dance and music as well. He eventually took part in the “Dancing with the Stars” competition, finishing in fourth place. He is wed to Alexa PenaVega, and together they run the “LexLovesLos” YouTube channel.
Early Childhood & Life
Carlos Roberto Pena Jr. was born on August 15, 1989, in Columbia, Missouri. He was born to Carlos Pena Sr., a Spanish father, and Margarita Pena, a Dominican mother. Along with his siblings Andres, Antonia, and Javi, he grew up in Weston, Florida.
He went to the ‘Sagemont Upper School,’ where he performed and supported his team during sports. Later, he enrolled in the “American Heritage School,” but he quickly departed to pursue his dream of becoming an actor by moving to Los Angeles.
He had a strong affinity for acting as a child. He received a breakout role in a ‘ER’ episode in 2014. He was 10 at the time. At this point, he also started to enjoy singing and dancing. In the American live-action sitcom “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide,” he was cast as “King Bee.” When he was just 15 years old, he had an appearance in three episodes of this sitcom.
Career of Carlos Pena Jr.
Carlos’ acting career got off to a fast start when he landed a breakthrough part in an ER episode. His life was altered by the break. Soon he appeared in three episodes of the American sitcom as “King Bee.”
Despite not having a major role in his previous series, he was cast as “Diego Valdesera” in the “Judging Amy” episode “Diego Valdesera.” Additionally, he appeared as a student in the episode titled “Sledgehammer” of the American TV drama “Summerland.”
For Carlos, 2009 turned out to be a pivotal year in his career. In the American television program “Big Time Rush,” he was given the lead part of “Carlos Garcia.” From November 28, 2009, through July 25, 2013, Nickelodeon broadcast the show, which followed the lives of four hockey players.
He had an appearance in “Hand aufs Herz,” a German TV soap opera, in an episode from 2011. Later, he also made an appearance in the “Nick News” children’s program episode titled “Lies We Tell in Middle School.” When he was given the opportunity to play Louis in the 2011 movie “Little Birds,” his ambition of playing in motion pictures became a reality. In the movie, Carlos played a skateboarder.
In 2011, he also appeared in the short film “The Hangover Hollywood.” The movie was a satire of the well-known movie series “The Hangover.” It had less views than his prior ‘YouTube’ videos.
He received numerous offers in 2012. In the English version of the animated movie “The Giant King,” he provided the voice for the character “Krudd.” He appeared in the “Big Time Movie” TV movie on Nickelodeon.
Additionally, he had an appearance in the episode titled “How to Rock an Election” of the teen comedy “How to Rock.” He made an appearance in eight episodes of the kid’s game show “Figure It Out” that same year. He appeared as a special guest on the episode of “Cupcake Wars” titled “Big Time Rush.”
In the 2013 episode titled “Big Time Marvin” of the American science-fiction slapstick comedy “Marvin Marvin,” he played himself. ‘Nickelodeon’ initially broadcast the series from November 24, 2012, through April 27, 2013.
He presided over the Nickelodeon children’s game show “Webheads” in 2014. The 40 episodes of the program were all presented by Carlos. He made an appearance as “Marcos” in the science fiction short “Code Academy” that same year. The topic of the movie was keeping people of different genders apart until they are 18 years old.
He had numerous TV appearances in 2015, including “The Thundermans,” “The Penguins of Madagascar,” and “Instant Mom.” He provided the voice for “Carlos the Beaver” in the “The Penguins of Madagascar” episode “Tunnel of Love.” He participated in “Dancing with the Stars” as a contestant before making an appearance on these shows, where he placed fourth. In the drama “Spare Parts,” he further portrayed the part of “Oscar Vasquez.”
He had an appearance in “Grease: Live” in 2016 as “Kenickie.” The television movie was a recreation of “Grease” from 1978. He provided Bobby Santiago’s voice in the American cartoon program “The Loud House.”
He portrayed “Pedro” in the 2017 movie “Killing Hasselhoff” in which he made an appearance. In order to win a wager in which one had to predict the death date of a prominent celebrity, the movie told the story of a man who planned to murder a celebrity. In the television movie “Enchanted Christmas,” Carlos also had an appearance as “Ricardo Archuleta.” He has recently been seen portraying “Diego Rojas” in the comedy series “Life Sentence.”
Individual Life of Carlos Pena Jr.
A long-term relationship between Carlos Pena Jr. and Chelsea Ricketts ended in 2010. Additionally, he was dating Samantha Droke.
After that, he ran into Alexa Vega. They grew close, and in August 2013 they were engaged. Their wedding took place on January 4, 2014. They run the “LexLovesLos” YouTube channel, which they jointly run. They uploaded a video to their channel announcing they were expecting a child. Ocean King PenaVega, their son, was born in 2016.