Prolific actor Gaius Charles has been entertaining audiences since the mid-2000s. Perhaps best known for playing Brian “Smash” Williams on the cult sports drama series Friday Night Lights, Charles has featured in a broad range of television and film projects ever since. A New York City native, Charles is a graduate of the prestigious Carnegie Mellon University and Drew University. Determined to sharpen his craft, Charles furthered his education in the arts by studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts in Australia. No stranger to taking on genre-smashing roles, Charles’s star continues to soar.
A multi-award winner, Charles has earned several accolades over the years, including a Gold Derby Award and Peabody Award for his work on Friday Night Lights. He has featured in high action thrillers like Salt, starred in the acclaimed drama series Grey’s Anatomy as Dr Shane Ross, stepped into Black Panther Bunchy Carter’s shoes in Aquarius, and led the chase in NBC’s Taken. Constantly pushing the boundaries of his craft, Charles has also guest-starred in a handful of shows like Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Blindspot, Pan AM and Comedy Central’s Drunk History, where he played the iconic Muhammed Ali.
Beyond the screen, Charles is an enigmatic theatre actor. His notable appearances include starring alongside the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in the Labyrinth Theatre Company’s production of Othello. In his original roles as EZ in Beau Willmon’s play Lower Ninth and Malcolm in Broke-ology, Charles’ performance was met with rave reviews. With a range of projects in the works, including the highly anticipated drama Alice and the comedy Land of Dreams, Charles will be lighting up the stage and screen for years to come.
