Don Castro is a Manila-born, award-winning American actor and filmmaker based in New York City. His resume includes diverse roles spanning theatre, film, and television. He has worked with many theater companies in New York City and beyond, including Ensemble Studio Theatre, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, Target Margin Theater, San Francisco Playhouse, and Metro Theater Company (St. Louis). Don has performed shows at La Mama ETC, The Public Theater, Here Arts Center, The Chocolate Factory, Abrons Arts Center, New Ohio Theatre, The Kitchen, Theatre Row, Theater for the New City, and many others. He has also performed internationally in Athens and Spetses, Greece.
Don has dedicated much of his career to developing original characters in new work, including lead roles in the world premieres of You Mean To Do Me Harm (Christopher Chen, Obie winner), Turning the Glass Around (Pia Wilson, Genius: Aretha), and The Tear Drinkers (Mike Iveson, original Broadway cast of What The Constitution Means To Me). Over the years, he has worked on creating new characters directly with several playwrights, including Zhu Yi, Leah Nanako Winkler, and Naveen Choudhury, whose plays have been included in Steppenwolf Theatre’s Mix list, a new resource of plays curated by Steppenwolf “that assist in the collective effort to move toward a holistic, nuanced, and equitable approach to diversity in the theatre."
Films featuring his work have screened at festivals in cities worldwide, such as the Toronto International Film Festival, Cannes' Short Film Corner, Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (Seoul, Korea), and Tribeca Film Festival (NYC). Film credits include: The Goldfinch (starring Nicole Kidman), The Wizard of Lies (starring Robert DeNiro), M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening, and Bohemibot (Student Academy Award winner), written and directed by Brendan Bellomo. Partial TV credits include: Power Book II: Ghost (season 2), Modern Love (season 2), Marvel’s Daredevil (season 3), Blue Bloods, The Blacklist, Pose, The Affair, Louie, The Following, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Most recently, Don reprised his role as "Dean Wong" in season 3 of Power Book II: Ghost.
Don's debut short film, Your blue heart, in which he served as writer, director, actor, and producer, is currently wrapping up its year on the film festival circuit, having screened at Micheaux Film Festival (Sponsored by the Oprah Winfrey Network and Sony Pictures - Los Angeles, CA), DIWA Filipino Film Festival (Seattle, WA), CHAIN NYC Film Festival, Katra Film Series (World Premiere, New York City), Binisaya WORLD Film Festival (International Premiere - Cebu City, Philippines), San Diego Filipino Film Festival (the largest curation and exhibition of Filipino films in the U.S.), NYC Indie Theatre Film Festival, Queens World Film Festival, and most recently, Kaminari Japan Film Festival (Winner, "Best Short Film" category). Your blue heart is now available to stream on Roku TV, Vizio devices, and through The Filipino Channel's streaming service, iWantTFC.
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Don is also a creator of soundscapes under the moniker, Lacuna. The music from his debut release, The Invisible Things, was used in collaboration with professional contemporary dance company, Baran Dance of Charlotte, North Carolina, as part of SITES: Reset, a multi-media art installation in Durham, North Carolina.
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Don is a member of Actors Equity Association (AEA) and Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).