Carl Clemons was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. He graduated from his hometown high school Wilkinsburg High School. Even though his family presently makes their home in Wilkinsburg, Carl's life started his early years (ages 2-4) in North View Heights, on the City's north side. His mother, Barbara Clemons, at this time was an active member of the Reserves, decided to move in with family members in the Hill District. She soon met and married a man who was enlisted in the Army. The family fell into the transient life of an Army family, with moves covering North Carolina and Germany. During their time in Germany Carl's mom and husband divorced and she brought Carl back to North Carolina, then to Arizona, back to North Carolina and finally settling in Wilkinsburg. As you can tell Carl  has lead a life filled with constant changes and new adventures.

 

Basically all my life I wanted to be an actor. I've acted in several plays in elementary school. In high school  I participated in theater classes, but didn't start to act serious until I was 19. By chance, I was walking in Oakland and a talent scout stopped me and asked if I would be interested in auditioning for the Temptations movie, which was being filmed in Pittsburgh.

 

At this early stage in my pursuant of being an actor, I didn't know what avenue to take to make it happen and the chance meeting of the talent scout offered me my first real opening.

 

I was sent down to Nancy Moser Casting (one of the main casting directors in Pittsburgh). After meeting with Nancy, who I'll say is a very sweet lady. I audited and was offered a part as a featured extra, with several scenes with the Smokey Robinson character.

 

My overall professionalism and dedicated work ethics assisted me in building excellent communication with the casting company. They took notice and started calling me for major local commercials. Several bookings were for principal roles. These were the roles that catapulted my local career. After getting my feet wet I began to focus more on working towards TV and movies.

 

I auditioned for His Place a Christian drama/comedy series based on a group of regulars who frequent a local diner, produced by Cornerstone Television (the series was filmed in Wall, PA). It was crazy as I auditioned twice in one day. The staff liked me so well they cast me immediately to played Daryl, a troubled young man. My character ended up being a regular on the show for the next two years.

 

This is when I first started being noticed by the public. It was a good feeling when people would come up to me and ask me if I was Daryl from His Place. I would sign a couple of autographs here and there. The feeling went even deeper as I was also doing God's work, it felt as though I wasn't only benefiting myself but others who found a positive connection with my character.

 

The character Daryl came from an urban background of poverty and with the lost of both his parents. On the surface it may have seemed to be a stereotypical role, but the writers molded the character into a positive male and the diner who was filled with religious people, who embraced my character and sister as family.

 

This role was a breakthrough for me, as Cornerstone Television never had an African-American actor as a series regular. As the show moved forward the writers evolved my character into a more positive person, moving from one-dimensional to many facets.

 

I asked Carl how this role affected his personal life.

 

It did as I was receiving different notoriety, people would come up to comment, wow you're a great actor. Since this was a national show, we received fan mail, interviews were held in between shows and this gave the audience a chance to call in and discuss their connection with the characters.

 

My resume started to take on a more professional look with the addition of Daryl's role. I was receiving many blessings. During the show's hiatus, which ended being the show's cancellation, I attempted to locate an agent in New York City. The following is a story I never shared, but I'm going to get up-close and personal with you by describing my dedication to building my craft.

 

I was so desperate to break into acting, I signed-up for one of those pay-me-to-discover-you model searches. Being young with limited funds, I had saved enough money to pay for the Greyhound round trip ticket to Long Beach, California, the workshop's registration fee and a one night's stay at a hotel. Never mind the session was for the entire weekend. Even though my Mom (Barbara Clemons) would have assisted me, this was something I wanted to do on my own, so she didn't know I was leaving short on funds. I left on my 3-day ride to Long Beach with dreams of being discovered.

 

The first day, I found myself standing in a large room, in front of a panel consisting of modeling and acting agents. It was sort of like being placed on a pedestal and turning every so often, while strangers examined your wares, your physical statue, your portfolio filled with headshots and your resume. All awhile making mental notes. The review would take place the second day; remember I only had enough money for the first night. When I returned to the hotel I found myself locked out and without money to pay for the second night, it was time to call on Mom and as parents do, she came to rescuse.

 

Out of the 600 models and actors who participated, Frontier Booking International, a New York Agency who represented all genres of mainstream actors, picked me up. I was also picked up by NBC, but there was no follow-up by their representative. I ended up working with Frontier for a while. They sent me on several national commercials auditions such as Reebok and Nike. Later when my agent with the company resigned, it was as though I also lost out.

 

 

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