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 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. The video went viral, and he became known as the "guy playing guitar during brain surgery".
Early life and education Carter was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and raised in Macon, Georgia. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Valdosta State University, located in Valdosta, Georgia.
Career In 2010, Carter made guest appearances in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Disney's Zeke and Luther, Justified, True Blood, and New Girl. He portrayed Rankin in one episode of the Showtime series Dexter, wherein his character was killed.
In 2012–13, Carter made guest appearances in The Mentalist, Bones, Longmire, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
In 2014, Carter made guest appearances in two episodes of HBO's True Detective opposite Matthew McConaughey 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. He appeared in the 2018 film Eat Me opposite Michael Shamus Wiles, 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 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 Year Title Role Notes 2007 Avenging Angel Gunman #2 Television film 2008 Night Life Dave Television film 2009 Karma Bitch Pool Man Jim Short film 2010 The Boy Who Stole'd Christmas Wade Short film 2010 Red Dead Redemption: The Man from Blackwater Deputy Marshal Jonah (voice) Short film 2012 One Week Roy Short film 2012 Crash & Burn JT Steckel Television film 2012 Smashed Felix 2013 The Sleepy Man Red Short film 2013 String Theory Clint Short film 2014 Swelter Mechanic 2014 The Gun Crazed Scavener Short film 2015 Untitled Johnny Knoxville Project Jukebox Television film 2015 Dixieland Larry Pretty 2015 Black Mass John McIntyre 2015 Pariah Breeder Television film 2015 The Highway Is for Gamblers Simon 2015 The 7 Sevens Jesse Short film 2015 The Revenant Johnnie Uncredited 2016 Free State of Jones Lt. Barbour 2017 The Scent of Rain and Lightning Billy 2018 Eat Me Bob 2018 Armed Shep/Stew 2018 White Boy Rick Weapon Salesman2019The Devil to Pay Dixon Runion 2020 Emperor Grady 2021 Old Henry Branigan 2023 Eating 38 Cheeseburgers Director Jacob Short film 2025 Signing Tony Raymond Ronnie Raymond
Television Year Title Role Notes 2008 The Riches Billy 1 episode 2009 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Carney 1 episode 2010 Zeke and Luther Steve 2 episodes 2010 Justified Bobby Joe Packer 2 episodes 2010 True Blood Kris 1 episode 2010 Dexter Rankin Episode: "My Bad" 2010 Criminal Minds Charlie 1 episode 2011 Harry's Law Stevie Kazz 1 episode 2011 Castle Bobby Spurlock 1 episode 2012 House Sheldon Episode: "Runaways" 2012 New Girl Stranger 1 episode 2012 CSI: NY Darius Cole 1 episode 2012 MyMusic Lenny's Dad 1 episode 2012 The Mentalist Phil Rawson 1 episode 2013 Bones Nick Bennett 1 episode 2013 Longmire Riley Manning 1 episode 2013 The Cheerleader Diaries Coach Eugene Hines 6 episodes 2008-2013 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Gerald Tolliver / Rudy 3 episodes 2014 True Detective Charlie Lange 2 episodes 2014 Perception Gary Williams 1 episode 2014 Sons of Anarchy Leland Gruen 4 episodes 2014 Ascension John Stokes 3 episodes - miniseries 2014-2015 Preface to Being Jaded Homeless Man 2 episodes 2018 I'm Poppy Able Abraham Lead role 2021 Yellowstone Checkers 2 episodes 2022 Ozark Deputy Ronnie Wycoff 3 episodes 2025 The Runarounds Dex 1 episodes 2026 9-1-1: Nashville Willy Davis 1 episode
Videogames Year Title Role 2010 Red Dead Redemption Deputy Marshal Jonah 2010 Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Deputy Marshal Jonah
References
External links , his official website