Born in Minneapolis, Charles grew up extensively overseas. But after the back-to-back deaths of his stepfather and mother, he went to live with his biological father on a farm in Huron, South Dakota where he finished High School. He then landed a job as a spear-carrier in a production of Macbeth at the Guthrie Theater and subsequently auditioned for the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Upon completion of LAMDA's one year course, he was accepted to The Juilliard School in New York, graduating in 2001.
