Carel Struyken was born in the Hague, The Netherlands. When he was four years old his family moved to Curacao, an island in the Caribbean. At age sixteen, he returned to his country, where he finished high school. He graduated from the directing program at the film school in Amsterdam, following which he did a year at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles.

After school, he collaborated on a number of projects of writer/director Rene Daalder. He was "discovered" as an actor at the corner of Hollywood and Vine in Los Angeles by a lady who had abandoned her car in the middle of the street, calling after him, "We need you for a movie!". The movie was Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The turning point in his acting career however was Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, a George Lucas film. In addition to cinema, he has also appeared on TV, notably as the recurring character, valet Mr. Homn, on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Carel has also helped in hardware and software development of virtual reality systems.
Many of his roles in films are non-speaking. Has been diagnosed with acromegaly (see giantism). At age 15, when he was living on the island of Curaçao, he composed several Caribbean waltzes. Is a strict vegetarian and loves to garden. Has his own website for spherical panoramic photography, which allows the viewer to look in any direction, as if one were standing in the center of a sphere. Only he and Christopher Hart have appeared in The Addams Family, Addams Family Values and the direct-to-video Addams Family Reunion. Neither of them had a speaking role in any of the films.