Carlos Pena Jr.

Carlos Pena Jr.
PenaVega in 2010
Born Carlos Roberto Pena Jr.
(1989-08-15) August 15, 1989
Columbia, Missouri, U.S.[1]
Occupation Actor, singer
Years active 2004–present
Spouse(s)
Alexa Vega (m. 2014)
Children 1
Musical career
Origin Weston, Florida, U.S.
Genres Pop rock, teen pop
Instruments Vocals, ukulele, tambourine, Guitar
Years active 2009–present
Labels
Associated acts Big Time Rush

Carlos Roberto PenaVega[2] (born Carlos Roberto Pena Jr.; August 15, 1989)[3] is an American actor and singer. He starred on the Nickelodeon series Big Time Rush as Carlos García, and was a member of the band Big Time Rush. He was the host of the Nickelodeon game show Webheads.

Early life

Carlos Roberto Pena Jr. was born on August 15, 1989, in Columbia, Missouri.[1][4] His father is of Spanish and Venezuelan descent; his mother is Dominican.[5] He was raised in Weston, Florida.[3][6] He attended Sagemont Upper School where he was a cheerleader. He appeared in local productions of Grease and Man of La Mancha.[1] He also had a role in a production of Titanic by the American Heritage School, where he attended before leaving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.[6][7] During his run in Titanic he fell in love with singing and dancing.[6]

Career

His first acting role was a guest star at age ten on ER, followed later that year by guest-starring roles on Judging Amy, Summerland, and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide.[4][6][7][8]

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. Pena was studying musical theater 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 almost two years later.[3] Pena moved to Hollywood in August 2009.

Big Time Rush

Big Time Rush is an American pop boy band that formed in 2009. The band consists of Pena, Kendall Schmidt, James Maslow, and Logan Henderson, all on vocals. Pena co-wrote the song "Oh Yeah" off of the group's first album, BTR. On the second album, he wrote "Invisible" along with Charley Greenberg, Cody Williams, Daniel Andrew Wayne, Jonathan Rotem. As of 2011, the band has released two albums, BTR and Elevate. They recently released their third album, 24/Seven, in which Pena wrote and co-wrote almost every song. He co-wrote "Picture This" with bandmate, James Maslow. Pena wrote "Lost in Love" for his wife, Alexa PenaVega. He also wrote the song "Na Na Na" on 24/Seven. In addition, BTR embarked on the Summer Break Tour, in support of the album.

Solo career

He released his first solo single in Spanish on February 4, 2014, titled "Electrico." The song charted in the top 10 of the Latin iTunes songs charts on release, yet failed to chart anywhere else. He was presented for the first time at the first annual Nickelodeon Colombia Kids' Choice Awards given in Bogotá.

It was announced on August 27, 2015, that Carlos PenaVega would be competing on the 21st season of Dancing with the Stars. His wife, Alexa PenaVega, was also announced as one of the contestants who would be competing against him on the show.[9] His professional partner was Witney Carson.[10] PenaVega and Carson reached the Finals of the show but were eliminated on Night 1 and ended the competition in fourth place.

Personal life

In August 2013, Pena became engaged to actress Alexa Vega.[11][12] The couple married on January 4, 2014, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.[13] They are both devout Christians.[14] They share a YouTube channel, LexLovesLos.[15]

The couple had a son on December 7, 2016.[16]

Filmography

Film roles
Year Title Role Notes
2011 Little Birds Louis
The Hangover Hollywood Carlos Short film
2012 The Giant King Krudd Voice role (English version); also known as Yak
2014 Code Academy Marcos
2015 Spare Parts Oscar Vasquez
2017 Killing Hasselhoff Pedro
Television roles
Year Title Role Notes
2004 ER Arlo Escobar Episode: "Shot in the Dark "
2004–2005 Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide King Bee 3 episodes
2005 Judging Amy Diego Valdesera Episode: "Diego Valdesera"
Summerland Student Episode: "Sledgehammer"
2009–2013 Big Time Rush Carlos Garcia Main role, 75 episodes
2011 Hand aufs Herz Himself Episode 210; as Big Time Rush
Nick News Himself Episode: "Lies We Tell In Middle School"
2012 Big Time Movie Carlos Garcia Television film (Nickelodeon)
How To Rock Himself Episode: "How to Rock an Election"
Figure It Out Himself 8 episodes (2, 11, 12, 22, 23, 30, 38, 41)
Cupcake Wars Himself (cameo) Episode: "Big Time Rush"
2013 Marvin Marvin Himself Episode: "Big Time Marvin"
2014 Webheads Himself Host, 40 episodes
2015 Dancing with the Stars Himself Contestant on season 21, 14 episodes; finished in fourth place
The Thundermans Tech Rider Episode: "No Country for Old Mentors"
The Penguins of Madagascar Carlos the Beaver Episode: "Tunnel of Love"
Instant Mom Roger Episode: "Turning a Blind Eye"
2016 Grease: Live Kenickie Television film (live musical broadcast)[17]
2016–present The Loud House Bobby Santiago Recurring voice role
2017 Enchanted Christmas Ricardo Archuleta Television film (Hallmark)
2018 Life Sentence Diego Series Regular[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Jicha, Tom (October 24, 2007). "Making More Menudo", Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.
  2. ↑ Alexa Vega and Carlos Pena change last names, onenewspage.com; accessed January 31, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Rentería, Melissa (November 26, 2009). "Plans Change as Pena Lands Co-Starring Role in Nickelodeon's 'Big Time Rush'." Conexión.
  4. 1 2 Moore, Frazier (January 15, 2010). "An Inside Look at a Boy Band on Nick's New Comedy", Associated Press; accessed January 31, 2016.
  5. ↑ Hernandez, Lee (February 28, 2011) Introducing “Big Time Rush” Star Carlos Pena. latina.com
  6. 1 2 3 4 Jicha, Tom. "In A Rush" Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel November 28, 2009.
  7. 1 2 Martin, Denise (November 22, 2009). Child's Play, Los Angeles Times
  8. ↑ Martin, Denise (November 26, 2009). "Big Time Rush Is A Little Bit Entourage, A Little Bit Monkees", Boston Globe; accessed January 31, 2016.
  9. ↑ Aguilera, Leanne (August 27, 2015). "EXCLUSIVE! 'Dancing With the Stars': Married Couple Alexa and Carlos PenaVega to Compete on Season 21". ET Online. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Dancing with the Stars Season 21 Cast Announcement". ABC. September 2, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  11. ↑ Eggenberger, Nicole (June 19, 2013). "Alexa Vega Engaged to Carlos Pena, Jr., Congratulated by Ex-Husband Sean Covel". Us Weekly. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  12. ↑ Spero, Jesse. "Alexa Vega Dishes Engagement Details: How Did Carlos Pena Pop The Question?". Access Hollywood. NBC Universal. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Alexa Vega Weds Big Time Rush's Carlos Pena Jr". The Hollywood Reporter. January 5, 2014. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  14. ↑ "How Did Carlos & Alexa PenaVega Meet? The 'Dancing With The Stars' Pair Is Too Adorable".
  15. ↑ "LexLovesLos".
  16. ↑ Juneau, Jen (December 9, 2016). "Carlos and Alexa PenaVega Welcome Son Ocean King — See His First Photo!". People. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  17. ↑ Hibberd, James (July 9, 2015). "Fox's Grease: Live casts Graceland star as Danny Zuko". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  18. ↑ Petski, Denise (March 13, 2017). "Carlos PenaVega Joins the CW Pilot 'Life Sentence'; Kimmy Shields In 'Insatiable'". Deadline. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.