Carlos Roberto PenaVega (born Carlos Roberto Pena Jr.; August 15, 1989) is an American actor, dancer, singer, musician and director.
He starred on the Nickelodeon series Big Time Rush as Carlos García, and is a member of the group Big Time Rush. He was also the host of the network's game show Webheads. He currently voices Bobby Santiago in The Loud House and its spin-off, The Casagrandes.
Early life[]
PenaVega was born on August 15, 1989, in Columbia, Missouri. His father is Spanish and Venezuelan, and his mother is Dominican. He was raised in Weston, Florida. He attended Sagemont Upper School where he was a cheerleader. He appeared in local productions of Grease and Man of La Mancha. He also had a role in a production of Titanic by the American Heritage School, which he attended before moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. During his run in Titanic he fell in love with singing and dancing.
Career[]
2004–2013: Career beginning and Big Time Rush[]
His first acting role was a guest star at the age of 15 on ER, followed later that year by guest-starring roles on Judging Amy, Summerland, and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. While still in high school, PenaVega appeared in television commercials for the Super Soaker brand recreational water gun, and his image even appeared on the toy's packaging. PenaVega 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. PenaVega moved to Hollywood in August 2009.
Big Time Rush is an American pop boy band that formed in 2009. The band consists of PenaVega, Kendall Schmidt, James Maslow, and Logan Henderson, all on vocals. PenaVega 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 and J.R. Rotem. As of 2011, the band has released two albums, BTR and Elevate. They later released their third album, 24/Seven, in which PenaVega wrote and co-wrote almost every song. He co-wrote "Picture This" with bandmate, James Maslow. PenaVega 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.
2014–present: 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. He was presented for the first time at the first annual Nickelodeon Colombia Kids' Choice Awards given in Bogotá. PenaVega competed on the 21st season of Dancing with the Stars in Fall 2015. His wife was also a contestant that season. His professional partner was Witney Carson. PenaVega and Carson reached the finals but were eliminated on the week's performance night and ended the competition in fourth place.
Personal life[]
In August 2013, PenaVega became engaged to actress Alexa Vega after meeting at Bible study. The couple married on January 4, 2014, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, both taking PenaVega as their married name. They are both devout Christians. They share a YouTube channel, LexLovesLos. The couple's first son, Ocean King PenaVega, was born on December 7, 2016. Their second son, Kingston James PenaVega, was born on June 30, 2019. In December 2020, they announced they are expecting their third child, a girl. Their daughter, Rio Rey PenaVega was born on May 7, 2021.
Filmography[]
Films[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | The Hangover Hollywood | Carlos | Short film |
Little Birds | Louis | ||
2012 | Yak: The Giant King | Krudd (voice) | English version |
2014 | Code Academy | Marcos | |
2015 | Spare Parts | Oscar Vasquez | |
2017 | Killing Hasselhoff | Pedro | |
2018 | Sleep Away | Joaquin | |
2019 | Picture Perfect Mysteries: Newlywed and Dead | Detective Sam Acosta | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) |
2020 | Picture Perfect Mysteries: Dead Over Diamonds | Detective Sam Acosta | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) |
Picture Perfect Mysteries: Exit, Stage Death | Detective Sam Acosta | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) | |
Mighty Oak | Pedro | ||
2021 | The Loud House Movie | Bobby Santiago (voice) | Animated film |
Television[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | ER | Arlo Escobar | Episode: "Shot in the Dark " |
2004–2005 | Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide | King Bee | Recurring role (Season 1) |
2005 | Judging Amy | Diego Valdesera | Episode: "Diego Valdesera" |
Summerland | Student | Episode: "Sledgehammer" | |
2009–2013 | Big Time Rush | Carlos Garcia | Main role; Director: "Big Time Tour Bus" (as Carlos Pena Jr.) |
2011 | Hand aufs Herz | Himself | Episode: "August 11, 2011" |
Nick News | Himself | Episode: "Lies We Tell In Middle School" | |
2012 | Big Time Movie | Carlos Garcia | Television film |
How To Rock | Himself | Episode: "How to Rock an Election" | |
Cupcake Wars | Guest judge | Episode: "Big Time Rush" | |
2012–2013 | Figure It Out | Panelist | |
2013 | Marvin Marvin | Himself | Episode: "Big Time Marvin" |
2014–2015 | Webheads | Host | |
2015 | Dancing with the Stars | Contestant | Season 21 |
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 special |
2016–present | The Loud House | Bobby Santiago, others (voice) | Recurring role |
2017 | Enchanted Christmas | Ricardo Archuleta | Hallmark Channel Television film |
2018 | Love at Sea | Tony Rieves | Hallmark Channel Television film |
A Midnight Kiss | David Campos | Hallmark Channel Television film | |
Life Sentence | Diego | Main role | |
2019–2023 | The Casagrandes | Bobby Santiago, others (voice) | Main role |
2020 | Blue's Clues & You! | Himself | Episode "Happy Birthday, Blue!" |
2021 | The Loud House Mega Music Countdown | Host |
Discography[]
Singles[]
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US
Latin | |||||||||||||
"Electrico" | 2014 | 17 | Non-album single | ||||||||||
"Bésame"
(featuring MAFFiO) |
2017 | — | |||||||||||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
Other appearances[]
Title | Year | Other(s) artist(s) | Album |
---|---|---|---|
"Principio Y Fin" | 2015 | Evan Craft | Principio Y Fin |
"Summer Nights" | 2016 | Grease: Live cast | Grease: Live |
"We Go Together" | |||
"Greased Lightnin'" | Aaron Tveit |