Raúl Castillo Jr. (born August 30, 1977) is an American actor and
playwright. He is known for his acting roles in Amexicano and Cold
Weather and his role as Richie Donado Ventura in the HBO series
Looking and its subsequent series finale television film, Looking: The
Movie. His notable written plays include Border Stories and Between
Me, You, and the Lampshade. His works are associated with the
LAByrinth Theater Company and the Atlantic Theater Company.Raúl
Castillo Jr. was born to father Raúl H. Castillo Sr. and mother Adela
"Adelita" RodrÃguez de Castillo. He has an older brother, Tony, and a
younger sister. His parents are Mexican emigrants from Reynosa,
Tamaulipas, Mexico, who later moved to McAllen, Texas, where he and
his siblings were raised. His hometown of McAllen was 90 percent
Mexican-American. Living so close to the U.S.-Mexican border,
Castillo's family would often visit family members who still lived in
Reynosa, affording him an upbringing that he describes as "very much
bicultural." Castillo states that growing up in a border town made him
feel identified as American when he visited Mexico, but Mexican when
he traveled around the United States. He explains he was "too American
for Mexico, but too Mexican for the U.S." He was raised Catholic. His
childhood nickname was "Gordo" ("fat", in Spanish), due to being
chubby.He first became interested in acting in the third grade, after
seeing his older brother in a school production of The Wizard of Oz as
the Tin Woodman. His older brother played guitar and is described as a
hardworking musician. His dedication was seen by Castillo when he
would sit and play scales for hours, which inspired him to use the
same technique for his own performance. He auditioned the next year
for the school play "about a mouse and a clock", but couldn't stop
giggling during his audition and was cast in a non-speaking role as a
guard. While in 6th grade at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School, he
met and befriended future Mutemath bass guitarist Roy
Mitchell-Cárdenas. With their friends Nick Trevino and Robert Vleck,
they started underground punk-rock band IPM (short for "Influential
Phecal Material") in high school. Mitchell-Cárdenas played drums
while Castillo played bass guitar. Before he became involved in
acting, he thought he would pursue a career as a rock
musician.Castillo states that he started acting when he was 14.
Seeking an elective when entering McAllen High School and a way to
make friends, he turned to theater, which was popular in his hometown
school. He became deeply involved in his high school drama department,
which he says looked fun. His background playing music for audiences
since age 11 made performing on stage feel natural for him. His first
acting role was subsequently in high school in a production of Paul
Zindel's play The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild. He also performed in
his high school production of I Remember Mama. It was then, at age 14,
that he met and became friends with future staff writer for Devious
Maids, Girls and Looking, Tanya Saracho, who also attended McAllen
High School. Saracho influenced Castillo greatly, introducing him to
playwrights and encouraging to develop his own tastes in drama.
Castillo cites the 1993 film Carlito's Way as the film that "changed
everything" for him. He was inspired by the performances of John
Leguizamo, John Ortiz, Viggo Mortensen, and Luis Guzmán in
particular. He even memorized several of Leguizamo's pieces such as
"Spic-O-Rama", "Mambo Mouth", and "Freak". Castillo also found
inspiration from several Hispanic artists in the media, including
Miguel Piñero and an anthology of works from the Nuyorican Poets
Cafe. He looked up to several actors such as Al Pacino and Anthony
Quinn, and spent much of his time watching the film The Outsiders.
After graduating, he went on to study playwriting as an undergraduate
at Boston University College of Fine Arts at age 17, though he
continued to act, and majored in theater. During his studies, Castillo
felt that the most important skill he developed there was learning how
to produce his own work. He would regularly put on plays during the
school's student-run playwright's festival. This university offered
festival gave Castillo a platform for his original work. Most of his
early plays were heavy and serious, dealing with the sociopolitical
and racial tensions on the border of Mexico and the United States,
including a trio of one-act plays called Border Stories, about life on
the U.S.-Mexican border in Reynosa. He graduated from Boston
University in 1999. Castillo viewed himself as more of a writer,
despite his performing abilities. It was not until after college,
while performing the lead role in a 2000 production of Santos & Santos
at the Nushank Theater Collective in Austin, Texas, that he felt
encouraged in identifying as an actor as well. He eventually moved to
New York City in 2002, which he describes as the smartest decision he
made for his career. He also considered moving to Los Angeles as well.
However, he decided on New York after he was stuck in a rush hour
traffic jam in Houston and realized he could not deal with daily
traffic, as he would have if he moved to LA.
playwright. He is known for his acting roles in Amexicano and Cold
Weather and his role as Richie Donado Ventura in the HBO series
Looking and its subsequent series finale television film, Looking: The
Movie. His notable written plays include Border Stories and Between
Me, You, and the Lampshade. His works are associated with the
LAByrinth Theater Company and the Atlantic Theater Company.Raúl
Castillo Jr. was born to father Raúl H. Castillo Sr. and mother Adela
"Adelita" RodrÃguez de Castillo. He has an older brother, Tony, and a
younger sister. His parents are Mexican emigrants from Reynosa,
Tamaulipas, Mexico, who later moved to McAllen, Texas, where he and
his siblings were raised. His hometown of McAllen was 90 percent
Mexican-American. Living so close to the U.S.-Mexican border,
Castillo's family would often visit family members who still lived in
Reynosa, affording him an upbringing that he describes as "very much
bicultural." Castillo states that growing up in a border town made him
feel identified as American when he visited Mexico, but Mexican when
he traveled around the United States. He explains he was "too American
for Mexico, but too Mexican for the U.S." He was raised Catholic. His
childhood nickname was "Gordo" ("fat", in Spanish), due to being
chubby.He first became interested in acting in the third grade, after
seeing his older brother in a school production of The Wizard of Oz as
the Tin Woodman. His older brother played guitar and is described as a
hardworking musician. His dedication was seen by Castillo when he
would sit and play scales for hours, which inspired him to use the
same technique for his own performance. He auditioned the next year
for the school play "about a mouse and a clock", but couldn't stop
giggling during his audition and was cast in a non-speaking role as a
guard. While in 6th grade at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School, he
met and befriended future Mutemath bass guitarist Roy
Mitchell-Cárdenas. With their friends Nick Trevino and Robert Vleck,
they started underground punk-rock band IPM (short for "Influential
Phecal Material") in high school. Mitchell-Cárdenas played drums
while Castillo played bass guitar. Before he became involved in
acting, he thought he would pursue a career as a rock
musician.Castillo states that he started acting when he was 14.
Seeking an elective when entering McAllen High School and a way to
make friends, he turned to theater, which was popular in his hometown
school. He became deeply involved in his high school drama department,
which he says looked fun. His background playing music for audiences
since age 11 made performing on stage feel natural for him. His first
acting role was subsequently in high school in a production of Paul
Zindel's play The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild. He also performed in
his high school production of I Remember Mama. It was then, at age 14,
that he met and became friends with future staff writer for Devious
Maids, Girls and Looking, Tanya Saracho, who also attended McAllen
High School. Saracho influenced Castillo greatly, introducing him to
playwrights and encouraging to develop his own tastes in drama.
Castillo cites the 1993 film Carlito's Way as the film that "changed
everything" for him. He was inspired by the performances of John
Leguizamo, John Ortiz, Viggo Mortensen, and Luis Guzmán in
particular. He even memorized several of Leguizamo's pieces such as
"Spic-O-Rama", "Mambo Mouth", and "Freak". Castillo also found
inspiration from several Hispanic artists in the media, including
Miguel Piñero and an anthology of works from the Nuyorican Poets
Cafe. He looked up to several actors such as Al Pacino and Anthony
Quinn, and spent much of his time watching the film The Outsiders.
After graduating, he went on to study playwriting as an undergraduate
at Boston University College of Fine Arts at age 17, though he
continued to act, and majored in theater. During his studies, Castillo
felt that the most important skill he developed there was learning how
to produce his own work. He would regularly put on plays during the
school's student-run playwright's festival. This university offered
festival gave Castillo a platform for his original work. Most of his
early plays were heavy and serious, dealing with the sociopolitical
and racial tensions on the border of Mexico and the United States,
including a trio of one-act plays called Border Stories, about life on
the U.S.-Mexican border in Reynosa. He graduated from Boston
University in 1999. Castillo viewed himself as more of a writer,
despite his performing abilities. It was not until after college,
while performing the lead role in a 2000 production of Santos & Santos
at the Nushank Theater Collective in Austin, Texas, that he felt
encouraged in identifying as an actor as well. He eventually moved to
New York City in 2002, which he describes as the smartest decision he
made for his career. He also considered moving to Los Angeles as well.
However, he decided on New York after he was stuck in a rush hour
traffic jam in Houston and realized he could not deal with daily
traffic, as he would have if he moved to LA.
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