After graduating from university in England, Ottery spent years working a variety of jobs ranging from trash collector to journalist to sales, until he finally found himself on a plane to Guangdong, China in 2008. He spent a year and a half there teaching, until relocating to Beijing, where he found a home teaching English and journalism at Communications University of China. Soon after he founded Comedy Club China a showcase of Chinese and ex-pat comedians working in China, the club is now a popular fixture in Beijing's nightlife with weekly stand up routines. Carlos's first feature film as an actor is This is Sanlitun.