Max Carley at Dave Decker Photography in Ybor City, Florida on Jan. 12, 2026. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s spring arts issue features more than a dozen artists to watch this year and beyond. Meet Max Carley.
His roaring 20s: “I went to FSU for a few semesters—I didn’t last because I liked to drink and do drugs a little too much.”
Then he found theater (again): He’d done a few shows at Early Bird Dinner Theatre when he was 19. “I had a ton of fun… but it wasn’t till I got sober in 2022 that I decided to rediscover these things I enjoy.”
Back to school: He went back to college and got his BA from USF, and for a while was waking up at 4 a.m., working till 5 p.m. (his current job is selling doors), going to class, then to rehearsals for community theater.
Then came Cratchit: In his biggest professional gig yet, Tampa Rep’s live-radio-play adaptation of “A Christmas Carol,” he was equally convincing as Bob Cratchit, Marley’s Ghost, and old Fezziwig.
Next up, Higgins: When a friend heard that Max was auditioning for “My Fair Lady” at Eight O’Clock Theatre (opening Feb. 27), she told him, “You’ll never get Higgins, you need to go for Freddy,” Eliza’s young suitor. But Max is the kind of actor who could be any age, from 20s to 40s to, well, whatever age Henry Higgins is—and that’s the part he got.
And then on to New York City: He just won a full scholarship to the Atlantic Acting Program, an affiliate of the renowned Atlantic Theater Company. He and his girlfriend, who’s a nurse, plan to move to the city in the fall.
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This article appears in Jan. 29 – Feb. 04.
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