David Bradley Carter (born December 5, 1973) is an American film and television actor, guitarist, painter, sculptor, and photographer,
known for playing Charlie Lange in ''
True Detective
''True Detective'' is an American anthology crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto. The series, broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States, premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the ...
'' and Leland Gruen in ''
Sons of Anarchy''.
After suffering from brain disease and
tremors that caused his hands to shake, he underwent brain surgery in 2013, which he recorded and posted on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
. The video went viral, and he became known as the "guy playing guitar during brain surgery".
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Early life and education
Carter was born in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
, and raised in Macon, Georgia. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Valdosta State University
Valdosta State University (VSU or Valdosta State) is a public university in Valdosta, Georgia. It is one of the four comprehensive universities in the University System of Georgia. , VSU had over 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students. VSU ...
, located in Valdosta
Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, United States. As of 2019, Valdosta had an estimated population of 56,457.
Valdosta is the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in 2021 had a ...
, Georgia.
Career
In 2010, Carter made guest appearances in ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and developed by McElhenney and Glenn Howerton that premiered on August 4, 2005 on FX and later FXX beginning with the ninth season in 2013. It stars Char ...
'', Disney's ''Zeke and Luther
Zeke is a masculine given name and nickname, sometimes a shortened form (hypocorism) of Ezekiel, which may refer to:
People
* Caleb Bailey (nickname "Zeke", 1898-1957), US Marine Corps brigadier general and athlete
*Zeke Bella (1930–2013), Amer ...
'', '' Justified'', ''True Blood
''True Blood'' is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on '' The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. A reboot is currently in development.
The ser ...
'', and ''New Girl
''New Girl'' is an American television sitcom created by Elizabeth Meriwether and produced by 20th Television for Fox that originally aired from September 20, 2011, to May 15, 2018. The series revolves around a kooky teacher, Jessica Day ( Zoo ...
''. He portrayed Rankin in one episode of the Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
series '' Dexter'', wherein his character was killed.
In 2012–13, Carter made guest appearances in ''The Mentalist
''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show f ...
'', ''Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, a ...
'', '' Longmire'', and ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...
''.
In 2014, Carter made guest appearances in two episodes of HBO's ''True Detective
''True Detective'' is an American anthology crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto. The series, broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States, premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the ...
'' opposite Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...
as Charlie Lange, an ex-husband of murdered Dora Lange, the case around which the series revolves. Later, he portrayed Leland Gruen, an Aryan Brotherhood member, in three episodes of FX's '' Sons of Anarchy''. Then he played John Stokes, a stockyard master, in the miniseries '' Ascension''.
In 2015, Carter starred in the film ''Dixieland'', and portrayed murder victim John McIntyre in '' Black Mass'', directed by Scott Cooper, and based on a true story. Carter appeared in the drama '' The Revenant'' (2015), opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
Alejandro González Iñárritu (; American Spanish: ; credited since 2016 as Alejandro G. Iñárritu; born 15 August 1963) is a Mexican filmmaker and screenwriter. He is primarily known for making modern psychological drama films about the hu ...
. He will also appear in the upcoming film ''Eat Me'' opposite Michael Shamus Wiles
Michael Shamus Wiles (born October 27, 1955) is an American character actor of film and television onscreen since the 1980s who has appeared in over 100 films and television shows.
Career
He portrayed Marc Mitscher in ''Pearl Harbor'' and Mr. Pa ...
, directed by Adrian Cruz.
Brain surgery
Nader Pouratian, director of UCLA's Neurosurgical Movement Disorders Program, performed brain surgery on Carter twice, in January and March 2013. The first surgery was to implant electrodes in his brain, and the second was to put wires down his neck. Carter had first noticed tremors in his hands in 2006, which were misdiagnosed as symptoms of Lyme disease
Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a vector-borne disease caused by the ''Borrelia'' bacterium, which is spread by ticks in the genus ''Ixodes''. The most common sign of infection is an expanding red rash, known as erythema migran ...
by three specialists. During the operation, Carter needed to be awake for the best results, so his doctors suggested that he play guitar during his operation to see when his tremors weakened.
A video recording was made of Carter's operation, which was later posted on YouTube. The video went viral and received media attention worldwide. Carter became known as the "guy playing guitar during brain surgery." The hospital staff had requested the video recording to help allay those suffering from similar diseases who were curious about the surgery.
Filmography
Film
Television
Videogames
References
External links
* , his official website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Brad
1973 births
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American painters
21st-century American sculptors
21st-century American male artists
American male sculptors
Actors from Macon, Georgia
American male film actors
American male guitarists
American male television actors
American photographers
Male actors from Fort Worth, Texas
Male actors from Georgia (U.S. state)
Musicians from Macon, Georgia
Living people
Painters from Georgia (U.S. state)
Painters from Texas
Valdosta State University alumni
21st-century American guitarists
American male painters
Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state)
Guitarists from Texas
Sculptors from Texas
21st-century American male musicians