Born in Chicago, Carlos Bernard received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.
He preformed in ACT stage productions:
- Good with William Hurt
- As You Like It
- Hamlet
- The Diary of Anne Frank
- The Cherry Orchard
He has guest starred in roles on Walker, Texas Ranger, F/X: The Series, Babylon 5, Maloney, and Silk Stalkings. He has appeared as a regular on the daytime soap opera, The Young and the Restless. He has appeared in feature films such as Vegas: C.O.D, The Killing Jar, and The Colonel's Last Flight.
However, throughout all these roles, he hadn't reached any major level of success until 24, where he played Tony Almeida, a government agent for the CTU.