Teaching kids or going for scares, Emmanuel Carter is an energetic rising star

Spoiler alert: The character played by Emmanuel Carter doesn’t survive the over-the-top horror plot of upcoming movie “Trick and Treats.”

On the bright side, the buoyant personality Carter displayed on a high-profile show for kids as well as in TV ads for the Indianapolis Zoo and Indiana Historical Society carried over to the slasher film.

Eric Hector, director of “Trick and Treats,” said fictional slayings arrive one after another in his movie that includes Gary Busey in the cast and features “A Clockwork Orange” lead Malcolm McDowell providing the voice of a supernatural pumpkin.

And Carter, a Broad Ripple High School alum who lives in Carmel, proved to be a charming victim.

“He’s the first major character who gets killed out of this group of people, and that’s when the whole point of the movie kind of changes,” Hector said.

The demise of Carter’s character at a roadside biker bar marks the end of a lighthearted tone for “Trick and Treats,” which is seeking a distribution deal for a possible Halloween release, Hector said.

“As soon as he dies, all the joy is sucked out,” he said. “I remember the day he left the set after his character died. All the joy leaves the movie at this time, and a big chunk of the joy on set was [gone] because he’s so positive and he keeps everything upbeat.”

Carter, a 36-year-old who made his on-screen debut more than a decade ago, said he works to convey his authentic personality when auditioning for roles.

“They’re not hiring a person to come in and play a character,” Carter said. “They’re hiring a person they are going to be working with for a certain amount of months. They want to make sure they’re able to tolerate your personality. They have to be able to realize you’re a person they want to be on set with for a long time.”

Scott Allen Tucker, co-founder of Indianapolis talent and modeling agency Talent Fusion, said he’s witnessed Carter’s optimistic and energetic nature across a decade of representing him. But Tucker said more than a winning personality plays into Carter’s success.

“In the days of Instagram reels and YouTube, I think a lot of people think being an actor is very easy because that kind of stuff is so accessible,” Tucker said. “But those are two different things. Being an actor is a job, and there’s work to be put into it. There’s preparation to be put into it. You have to audition, which takes time. If you book a job, you have to memorize lines and prepare your character and show up on time.”

Carter won a regional Emmy Award for hosting the 2020 “(Re)Start with Art” show presented by the Indy Arts Council in conjunction with WFYI Public Media.

As host of Nickelodeon’s Noggin series “Noggin Knows,” Carter earned a national Children’s and Family Emmy Award nomination in 2023.

He served as host of “Noggin Knows,” a televised preschool class highlighted by singing and dancing, for three seasons.

“I got the chance of a lifetime to host an amazing children’s series that was, to me, an amalgamation of everything I loved growing up,” he said. “It’s equal parts ‘Reading Rainbow’ and ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ and ‘The Magic School Bus.’”

Industry in flux

Unfortunately, school’s out for “Noggin Knows.” The entire Noggin platform was shut down this year by parent company Paramount Global in a cost-cutting move.

Carter, as one might expect, sees a silver lining in highly publicized financial challenges encountered by Paramount, Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery.

“In the entertainment ecosystem, we’re in this space where everything is shifting, and there’s going to be an awesome turnaround,” Carter said. “Something like this always happens in Hollywood. There’s mismanagement or shortsightedness until there’s a renaissance because the powers that be figure out, ‘Oh, this is not sustainable.’”

Saying he’s grateful for the “Noggin Knows” experience, Carter is working on two series in development. One is a travel documentary concept produced by women of color, and the other is a preschool series Carter is producing with filmmaker and Indiana native Mike James.

Carter will be the on-camera host of each series, and streaming platforms are logical destinations for the shows.

Talent Fusion co-founder Tucker said he considers Carter’s career to be on the rise.

“I definitely can see him moving into more film and television work,” Tucker said. “He’s always going to be busy, because I don’t think he knows how to sit still.”

“Trick and Treats” director Hector said he initially envisioned a different persona for the “David” role snagged by Carter. The actor’s video audition, or self-tape, changed Hector’s mind.

“His audition was the best,” Hector said. “It was the best to the point where it overwhelmed any preconceived notion of the character that I had created when I wrote it.”

Carter strengthened his bond with Hector by visiting a creative media class taught by the filmmaker at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. Carter spoke with Hector’s students about what it takes to build an acting career while living in the Midwest.

“My favorite thing about directing is working with actors, and my favorite thing about working with actors is working with actors like him,” Hector said of Carter.

Close to home

As Carter says, Indiana is known for growing corn, not movie stars.

It’s true that James Dean, Steve McQueen, Florence Henderson and Vivica A. Fox grew up in Indiana, but each found fame after moving away. In more recent history, Adam Driver grew up in Mishawaka and studied at the University of Indianapolis. His acting career bloomed, however, in New York City.

Carter said he’s happy to live in Indiana while building his resume through appearances on commercials and acting and hosting jobs.

“I always was told by my mom that it did not matter what I wanted to do, I could do it,” Carter said. “There is no circumstance that could keep me from doing the thing that I wanted to the most. That’s just what I grew up believing.

“Of course, you grow up as a young person and everybody asks you what you want to do. I would always say, ‘I want to be in movies.’ That was always met with confusion and someone trying to encourage me to go in a different direction.”

Carter had brushes with entertainment success by making appearances on televised talent search show “America’s Got Talent” with two Indianapolis dance crews (in 2009 and 2013).

“What a lot of people who want to do this business don’t really understand is that it’s not about trying to fit into this mold Hollywood says you have to fit into,” he said. “You don’t have to do a certain set of things or look a certain way to be able to do it. I knew that if I just stayed the course and be who I already was, then that’s why I was going to make it.”

Filmmaker Hector is an example of growing an entertainment career in the Midwest. The founder of Heroic Age Studios worked in comic books before branching out to films. For “Trick and Treats,” he built a log cabin and a biker bar on a soundstage in Decatur.

Tucker represents Carter for potential work in the Midwest, and the actor has other representation for work elsewhere.

The cost of living in central Indiana is preferable to that of Los Angeles and New York City, Tucker notes when talking about Carter’s choice to stay close to his hometown.

Success doesn’t arrive overnight, Tucker said, and an actor can thrive through effort, luck and a willingness to drive six hours for a job.

On the topic of technology, Tucker said, “Self-tape auditions have opened up a lot more opportunities for actors in general.”

Helpful or horrifying

Carter acknowledges the contrast between his work as “Noggin Knows” host and his work in horror films. Before “Trick and Treats,” he starred in “Smiley’s,” a 2018 short film in which a rural vending machine granted wishes or nightmares.

Halloween is a major holiday for Carter and his family—which includes his wife, Stephanie, and a trio of sons who are 10, 6 and 3.

Recalling his childhood, Carter said he watched plenty of horror films and 1970s martial arts movies while living with his mother, Cindy Carter, and late grandmother, Mable Hibbler, in the Meridian Hills neighborhood.

Cindy Carter once used Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video to discipline Emmanuel.

“She didn’t yell a lot or anything like that,” Carter said. “But she was gimmicky. She said, ‘If you do that one more time, I’m going to put you into this room and you’re going to have to watch Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”’ Of course, I did it one more time. That video scared me to the core. But it also was incredible.”

In 2022, Carter bridged his nurturing and frightful characteristics by directing a live-action music video inspired by the song “This is Halloween” from 1993’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

“There’s a side of me where I’m completely in awe of the world around me, and I don’t think I’ve ever lost that sense of exploration,” Carter said. “Then there’s the other side of me that really loves the dark side. I love spooky horror films.”

Alison Czarcinski is a Carmel resident who became a friend of Emmanuel and Stephanie Carter through sports played by their youngsters. Czarcinski exited a career in tech last year to become a screenwriter.

Presently working on a script titled “United on the Mound,” in which a Black baseball player navigates social unrest in the 1960s, Czarcinski said Carter has been supportive of her new artistic pursuit.

She asked him, for instance, if he ever doubted his decision to become an actor.

“He said, ‘There comes a point when you have this relentless pursuit,’” Czarcinski said. “With his help, that’s become my mindset.”

Czarcinski said she’s writing “United on the Mound” with Carter in mind for the lead role.

“I told him that I want him to be the centerpiece of the movie,” she said. “I’m hoping, if the stars align, he can be the protagonist. I really hope so.”•