Raúl Castillo

In Smile 2 (2024), Raúl Castillo hovers at the edge of the action with a phone, alongside Miles Gutierrez-Riley. We were frustrated by how little he was given to do, particularly in a film that keeps repeating its scares. As Darius, he is part of the supporting cast left waiting while Naomi Scott supplies more conviction than the material deserves. It is a useful warning against choosing a film simply because Castillo is in it: this loud, overlong horror gives us little opportunity to see what he can do.

His early independent work included Cold Weather (2010), but Looking (2014–2015), as Richie Donado Ventura, brought the break. The work that followed includes the volatile father Paps in We the Animals (2018) and a cop in the ensemble of Knives Out (2019). Paps is the more useful guide to his strengths: Castillo gives a flawed father both empathy and intensity, making room for affection without softening the volatility. He is frequently cast as working-class Latino men whose physical presence does not spare them uncertainty.

Castillo plays Cliff Broward in Task (2025), a decent crime drama that we recommend with reservations. Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey have family troubles worth caring about, but the investigation takes too long to gather pace. The shortage of humour also makes the waiting harder than it needs to be. We would suggest it to patient crime-drama viewers, rather than put it forward as the place to discover Castillo.

We want more parts that give him time to work through conflicting feelings, particularly in the intimate family dramas that suit his stage-honed acting. His supporting appearances in larger productions have not always provided that opportunity, and a longer list of credits need not mean more satisfying work. Give him a sustained scene opposite a co-star such as Jonathan Groff; that is a more inviting prospect than another phone.