Biography
Wade Thomas Carpenter III
Was born on February 6th, 1973 in the small town of Vidalia, Georgia, -- dubbed the "onion capital" best known for it's sweet onions. At the age of seven, his family moved to a suburb just outside Atlanta, Georgia. He is the son of Wade Thomas Carpenter Jr., who served his country honorably as a UDT Frogman, in the Navy, and after as Southeast Regional Manager of airspace for the FAA. His mother, Sharone Carolyn Carpenter, worked and retired from the Georgia House of Representatives.
His hardworking parents instilled in Wade and his sister, Regina, standards to strive for: ethics of courtesy, hard work and 'follow through'; the belief in oneself; and the principle that 'telling the truth' will always make life easier. They were pretty damn good parents who were always there when he needed them and always reminded him "...we shine brightest when we are ourselves."
Wade was a gifted student and athlete. He grew up playing sports and lettered in football, baseball, golf and wrestling. He attended Truett-McConnell College on a baseball scholarship and was scouted to play professional baseball but after blowing out his pitching arm in his sophomore year his dream was shattered. What Wade discovered about himself during that time would serve him well his entire life. He had a natural resilience and an innate ability to rise to his next challenge after upsetting defeats.
It didn't take Wade long to find his new passion and set his sights on acting. He dropped out of college, packed up his grandfather's huge 4-door 84' Buick Electra and began his cross-country journey to Hollywood with only a credit card and $200 dollars in his pocket.
His first stop was a photographer friend in Miami to shoot some photos and head shots. But Wade didn't even have time to get a proper tan when his pictures found their way to a modeling agency and off he went to Paris. He modeled in Paris for the next two years and then Polo brought him to New York as their in house model for another two.
So within two weeks of leaving Georgia, on the road to Hollywood, Wade found himself living and working in two of the most vibrant cities in the world-- Paris and New York City. And over the next four years the thought struck him that it would actually be cool to finally visit his intended destination in California.
It was Oscar season in Hollywood when Wade decided to go for a visit, and as luck would have it, he got invited to Elton John's Oscar party. During the festivities that night Wade found himself rubbing elbows with the towns' elite players all there celebrating their shared love of movies. Wade was enjoying an intense discussion with a well-known actor over their Oscar picks, which was apparently annoying to a nearby-entitled guest who told Wade to be quiet. Wade wasn't having it and responded with a brash, southern 'mind your own business' kind of response that caught the attention of a guy who overheard him and got a kick out of him. Later that evening that man handed Wade his card and told him to call. His name was Scott Karp, and he was an agent at William Morris. He's still Wade's Manager to this day.
Their conversation was a short and happy one. Wade was now convinced that he should relocate from NYC to Hollywood to pursue acting just as his modeling career was about to sky rocket. No matter to him, you must always follow your heart and a short six months into his that pursuit, Wade landed his break through role on the long running TV series-- 7th Heaven. He played the recurring role of Jordan Johansen-- love interest to both Jessica Biel and Beverly Mitchell. Wade's subtle style of acting really struck a chord with fans and kept him on the series for four years, from 1998-2001.
Wade booked his first starring role soon after he left 7th Heaven in USA's "Class Warfare" and he was off and running. True to his 'in action' mantra, yet another creative path opened up for Wade in-between acting jobs. In 2003 he auditioned to play bass in the band Operator and won the job. The rock band caught the ear of Atlantic Records and they were signed to a five record deal.
Operator regularly played to festival crowds of 20,000 and 2500 enthusiastic rock fans nightly. They zigzagged the United States traveling 500 miles a day on a tour bus and sometimes flying to play two states in a day. They spent most of their time touring across the country and performing with bands like: Cheap Trick, The Black Crows, Buck Cherry, Velvet Revolver, Audio Slave, Hinder, Shinedown, God Smack, Avenged Sevenfold and Korn to name just a favorite few.
Operator had a successful run that in the end saw the band break up, as bands often do, over creative and monetary issues with the label. But they left behind a damn good album, "Soul Crusher", released in 2007, and three top-10 singles on the rock charts, as well as, showcasing their music on the 08' Madden Football soundtrack for Sony Playstation.
At the tail end of Wades last tour in Spokane Washington, Wade slipped on some ice, fell flat on his back and herniated a disc. It was 2008, the financial crisis had hit, and the economy had flattened. For Wade it became clear that it was a time to rehab and heal. He returned to Atlanta to rehab his disc, which kept him in bed for about 8 months. He then went on a pilgrimage to the Yucatan' for six weeks to soul search, expand his spiritual practice and figure out what he wanted to do with the next chapter of his life. He decided to go to hair school and become a barber.
It was a circuitous journey for Wade who had been cutting hair his whole life. He was the guy who had the clippers and had been cutting his teammate's hair in middle school, high school and college. He had been cutting everyone's hair on his teams' while he was playing ball all along. It's something that he's always done-he cut his first Mohawk when he was in 7th grade. It seemed like the logical transition to a new passion.
Wade moved back to Los Angeles one year later, almost to the day, and started doing hair. He began at the Chaz Dean studio, and then went to Baxter Finley, and then finally out on his own...
Since returning to Los Angeles Wade has shot a number of commercials and two films. He's released a record of his own which he produced, mixed, engineered, played bass, guitar, piano, and drums, sang and also did the album artwork. In his spare time he also got his Jui Jitsu black belt!
Wade has enjoyed following his passions on numerous creative paths and spiritual practices in his life. "It's amazing to me how all these small little pieces fit together in my life. I guess that's why they call it 'life'. I certainly know I'm on a path-- with out a doubt."
In classic Renaissance man fashion, Wade has had careers as a licensed shiatsu specialist, Jui Jitsu instructor, certified yoga instructor, rock musician, model, barber and actor. Once an actor, always an actor-so keep your eyes open for more Wade coming to a theater near you soon...
