Charles was born on May 2, 1983 in Manhattan, New York. Growing up he lived in NYC and later in Teaneck, New Jersey. When he and his family moved into NJ they moved into the former home of Composer Alan Silvestri.
Charles graduated from Teaneck High School in 2001. He attended Carnegie Mellon University's College of Fine Arts, where he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drama. He also studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney, Australia.. He also earned a Master of Arts degree in Religious Studies from Drew University.
In 2017 Charles starred in the first season of NBC’s television drama series Taken, based on the blockbuster Taken film franchise.
In addition to film and television, Gaius starred in the Labyrinth Theater Company’s production of Othello, co-produced with the Public Theater, alongside Phillip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz. He also received rave reviews for originating the roles of “EZ” in Beau Willimon’s play Lower Ninth and “Malcolm” in Broke-ology directed by Tony Award winner Thomas Kail.
