Carlos Pena

Early life
Carlos was born in Columbia, Missouri.[1] [3]  His father is of Spanish and Venezuelandescent, while his mother is of Dominican descent.[4]  He was raised in Weston, Florida.[2] [5]  He attended Sagemont Upper School where he was a cheerleader.[1]  He appeared in local productions of Grease and Man of La Mancha.[1]  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. [5] [6]  During his run in Titanic he fell in love with singing and dancing.[5]

[edit] Career
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.[3] [5] [6] [7]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;">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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Connection_2-2" style="line-height:1em;">[2]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;">Pena was studying musical theater at the Boston Conservatory when his manager urged him to audition for Big Time Rush.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Connection_2-3" style="line-height:1em;">[2]  Although he was reluctant to do so, he submitted an audition tape and won the role a month later.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Connection_2-4" style="line-height:1em;">[2]  Pena moved to Hollywood in August 2009.

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