Carlin is the son of actress Frances Sternhagen and late actor Thomas A. Carlin. Among his acting resume are the films Wolfpack (1988), Lincoln and the War Within (1992, with Chris Sarandon), Into the Paradise (1995), The Nutty Professor (1996, with Michael Rothhaar, Julianne Christie, Athena Massey, and stunts by LaFaye Baker, Eugene Collier, and Rita Minor), and Apollo 11 (1996, with Jeffrey Nordling, Jim Metzler, Scott Alan Smith, Stephanie Niznik, Matt Frewer, Tim Kelleher, and George Murdock).