Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlos Aviles.
Carlos, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Ok, well, I don’t know how to shorten the story but I’ll give it a try. I moved to Atlanta in 2008 after serving seven years in the United States Army. I didn’t move here for anything else but to get better job opportunities than I was receiving in my hometown of Hampton Roads Virginia. All I knew was that I wanted more outta life. Shortly after I moved to Atlanta, I started doing security for AG Entertainment he owned clubs such as Velvet Room, Compound, Reign, and Vanquish. I had been doing security for Alex Gidewon for a few years when the opportunity presented itself and I said yes. But I owe the reason for saying yes to two incredible friends of mine that were the conduit to my life as an actor. Jacinte Blankenship and Franco Castan. I met both of them through the nightlife and they were both already actors for some time now. They both had told me for years that I should get into acting, and I always was like man, I’m not an actor, I have bills to pay.
Pursuing dreams just wasn’t in my path. But they had planted a seed that slowly but surely grew inside of me for years. So, when the opportunity came I said: “what do I have to lose.“ So, fast forward, I was working at Reign Nightclub on Peachtree St. in midtown Atlanta and I was setting up the velvet ropes before the night started when two women walking down Peachtree St. approached me and started making small talk about the venue. Making a long story short before they left they told me they were in town filming a movie and that they thought I’d be perfect for it. They asked if they could take my picture and get my contact info to pass it on to the director for approval and that seed that had been planted years before bloomed and I said sure. Maybe a month or two went by when I received an email from Paramount Pictures with set time and location. I had no idea what I was doing but I knew how to take direction. So, the day finally came and I went to a base camp filled out the paperwork they gave me my clothes that I would be wearing in the film and they took us to set. Once we got to set they put me in my position and the director Robert Zemeckis walked out and told me that he wanted me to look at the main actor like I didn’t care what he was saying and look angry or bothered. I remember thinking to myself I do this every day doing security this is gonna be easy. Until the main actor walked out. Denzel Washington stepped on to set and I remember feeling his energy pulsating through the room. He sat directly in front of me. In my mind, I was going crazy. He talked to the director for a few minutes and then we started. This is how I knew that this is what I would be doing for the rest of my life when Robert Zemeckis said ACTION everything in the room disappeared the cameras, the people, everything! I was so focused on the moment in the scene that nothing else mattered. I left that day knowing this is my calling this is what I’m supposed to do. I wanted to make people feel the same way Denzel made me feel. So, I started looking up schools did a few short films afterwards, I caught the attention of Houghton Talent Agency auditioned for them and signed with them and that’s all she wrote. I haven’t looked back since.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road is far from smooth. But then again nothing worth having is ever smooth. Fail Forward as they say. This is a business full of rejection and NO’s. It is not for the faint of heart. For me, I always typecast because of the way I look. The thug, the prisoner, the gang member, the drug lord, the cartel member, the list goes on and on. The struggle I have is convincing people that I am so much more than that. I am a veteran I am a father, I feel the love I feel Pain. Having tattoos does not exempt me from all those things. So, I have to work hard to show them that I can be something so much more than that.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
My uniqueness sets me apart. Nobody looks like me nobody is me and not in a cocky way but in a matter of fact way. I sit in my power. I am unique and I love it. Some of the films I am known for most recently Good Girls on NBC playing alongside my great friend Manny Montana. Triple 9 directed by John Hillcoat, The Walking Dead, Table 19, Trial by Fire, and Ant-Man to name a few.
What were you like growing up?
I played sports all my life, Soccer and Football. I was definitely a troubled teen and not because of poverty or a bad household or being abused. Lol, I was just stupid, I wanted to please everyone so I did a lot of dumb things that got me in a lot of trouble. My dad was in the military as well, so I traveled a lot, never really having a place to call home. Virginia was just the place we stayed the longest, so that’s why to refer to it as my hometown. I bounced around high schools and whenever I got too much for one parent, I was sent away to live with the other and back and forth, I went. I dropped out of high school in the 11th grade and got my GED and then joined the military.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5712643/
- Email: carlos.aviles718@gmail.com
- Instagram: @the_real_carlosaviles
- Facebook: Carlos Aviles
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