Gaius Charles

Queens native Gaius Charles studied drama at Carnegie Mellon University before setting off for the bright lights of L.A. to pursue a professional acting career. On the eve of the audition that would make his career, however, he sprained his foot. He'd been training to prepare for the role of high-school athlete Brian "Smash" Williams on the popular series Friday Night Lights, a show based on the movie of the same name, about a small town in Texas where high-school football is among the most important things in life. The injury sent Charles to the ER, but in the end, the downtime gave him more time to prepare, and later that week, he nailed the audition and won the role. Gaius would go on to appear in a number of other projects in the years to come, including Salt, and Necessary Roughness.