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Alfredo Castro (actor)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alfredo Castro
Castro in 2015
Born (1955-12-19) 19 December 1955 (age 68)
OccupationActor
Years active1982–present
Political partyDemocratic Revolution[1]
Spouse
Taira Court
(m. 1997; div. 2008)
Children1

Alfredo Arturo Castro Gómez (born 19 December 1955), best known as Alfredo Castro, is a Chilean actor.[2] With a well established trajectory in theater and television, he became one of the most well-known Latin American film actors of the 2010s.

Personal and early life

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Castro grew up in a family of five brothers; his mother died of cancer when he was 10. He attended elementary and middle school at Saint Gabriel de Las Condes, Kent School in Providencia and Liceo de Hombres No. 11 in Las Condes.

Castro entered the Theater Department of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Chile, where he graduated in acting in 1977. That same year he received the APES Award from the Association of Entertainment Journalists. That same year he debuted in Equus, with good reviews from the specialized press.

Acting career

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Between 1978 and 1981, Castro worked in Teatro Itinerante, where he was one of the founders. In 1982, he participated in the production of De cara al mañana for Televisión Nacional de Chile, beginning his extensive career on the small screen. He traveled to London in 1983, with a scholarship from the British Council to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

In 1989, Castro received a scholarship from the Government of France to perfect himself in theater directing in Paris, Strasbourg and Lyon. He returned the same year and founded the company Teatro La Memoria. In 2013, he announced the closure, due to lack of funds, of this theater that operated in Bellavista 503. Before he had notified that he should also end his research center that gave seminars on dramaturgy, directing, acting and writing.

Castro worked as a teacher and deputy director of the Fernando González Theater Academy.

For the theater of the Catholic University, Castro staged the plays Theo and Vicente mown by the sun (adaptation of Nous, Theo et Vincent Van Gogh, by Jean Menaud; 1990) and King Lear, with a translation by Nicanor Parra; and in Chile, La Catedral de la Luz (1995), by Pablo Álvarez and Casa de Luna (1997) by Juan Claudio Burgos Droguett, a work inspired by the novel El lugar sinlimites, by José Donoso.

Castro was president of the Asociación Gremial de Directores de Chile (1997-2000) and artistic director of the Muestra de Dramaturgia organized by the General Secretariat of Government (1999-2000). During that same season, he staged Hechos consumados by Juan Radrigán and Patas de perro, based on the homonymous novel by Carlos Droguett.

Castro joined Televisión Nacional de Chile in 1998, collaborated closely with director Vicente Sabatini, with several performances in the Golden Age of TV series, achieving great popularity with his roles in La Fiera, Romané, Pampa Ilusión, El Circo de las Montini, Los Pincheira, among others.

In 2001, Castro directed Las sirvientas (also translated as Las criadas, by Jean Genet) and starred in Copi's Eva Perón, a play that marked his return to the stage as an actor.

In 2004, Castro directed Claudia Di Girolamo in Sarah Kane's play Psicosis 4:48. The following year, for the play he won an Altazor Award for Best Theater Director.

In 2006, Castro is named by Chile Elige as the third best Chilean actor of all time.

Castro made his film debut in the drama Fuga in 2006 and received critical acclaim for his performance in Tony Manero in 2008. He gained recognition for his subsequent work in roles such as Post Mortem (2010) and No (2012), as well as in leading roles in Desde allá (2015) and The Club (2016).

In 2012, Castro decided to withdraw from the telenovelas with which he became popular and to which he had dedicated a large part of his life, the last being La Doña.

In 2014, Castro directed the famous play A Streetcar Named Desire by American playwright Tennessee Williams, starring Amparo Noguera, Marcelo Alonso, Luis Gnecco and Paloma Moreno.

In 2017, Castro received the Medal of Honor from the Chamber of Deputies of Chile.

In 2019, Castro received the Starlight International Cinema Award at the 76th Venice International Film Festival for his artistic career.[3] In March 2020, Castro was chosen as the best theater actor of the 2010s by El Mercurio.

In June 2024, Castro was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[4]

Selected filmography

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Film

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Film
Year Title Role Notes
1999 La chica del crillón Gastón Alberto Daiber
2006 Fuga Claudio Leal directed by Pablo Larraín
2007 Casa de remolienda Renato directed by Joaquín Eyzaguirre
2008 Secretos Guru directed by Valeria Sarmiento
Tony Manero Raúl Peralta directed by Pablo Larraín
The Good Life Jorge directed by Andrés Wood
2010 Post Mortem Mario Cornejo directed by Pablo Larraín
2012 It Was the Son Busa directed by Daniele Ciprì
2013 Il mondo fino in fondo Lucho, el taxista directed by Alessandro Lunardelli
No Luis Guzmán directed by Pablo Larraín
Carne de Perro Pastor Evangélico directed by Fernando Guzzoni
2014 The Quispe Girls Fernando directed by Sebastian Sepulveda
Aurora Santiago directed by Rodrigo Sepulveda
Ventana directed by Rodrigo Susarte
2015 The Club Padre Vidal directed by Pablo Larraín
From Afar Armando directed by Lorenzo Vigas
2016 Neruda Gabriel González Videla, president of Chile directed by Pablo Larraín
2017 Severina Otón directed by Felipe Hirsch
The Summit Desiderio García directed by Santiago Mitre
Los Perros Juan, former colonel directed by Marcela Said
2018 Rojo Detective Sinclair directed by Benjamín Naishtat
Museum Dr. Núñez directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios
2019 Perro Bomba El Jefe Directed by Juan Cáceres
Medea Camionero Directed by Alejandro Moreno
White on White Pedro directed by Theo Court
Some Beasts Antonio Directed by Jorge Riquelme Serrano
The Prince "the Stallion" Directed by Sebastián Muñoz
2020 My Tender Matador The Queen of the Corner directed by Rodrigo Sepúlveda
Perfidious Paolo directed by Illeane D Velasquez
Karnawal El Corto directed by Juan Pablo Félix
Verlust Constantin directed by Esmir Filho
2021 Immersion Ricardo directed by Nicolás Postiglione
Dusk Stone Genaro directed by Iván Fund
2023 El Conde Fyodor directed by Pablo Larraín
The Settlers José Menéndez directed by Felipe Gálvez Haberle
2024 City of Dreams El Jefe directed by Mohit Ramchandani

Television

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TV
Year Title Role Channel
1982 De Cara al Mañana Claudio Castañeda TVN
1984 La Represa Samuel Gómez / Samuel Betancourt
Los Títeres Julio Barros Canal 13
1988 Vivir Así Ito Orsini
1990 ¿Te Conté? "Frula"
1991 Volver a Empezar Pedro Pablo Oroz TVN
1992 El Palo al Gato Nando Canal 13
1993 Jaque Mate Jonathan Astudillo TVN
1994 Champaña Renán Bascur Canal 13
1995 El Amor Está de Moda Leonardo "León" Soto
Amor a Domicilio Romeo Ulloa Gatica
1996 Adrenalina Efraín Domínguez
1997 Eclipse de Luna Jeremías Holtz
1998 Iorana Luciano Cox TVN
1999 La Fiera Ernesto Lizana
2000 Romané Lazlo California
2001 Pampa Ilusión Eulogio Martínez
2002 El Circo de las Montini César Mondaca
2003 Puertas Adentro Julio Albornoz
2004 Los Pincheira Floridor Carmona
2005 Versus Dr. Arístides Montenegro
2006 Floribella Franz von Mayerlitz
2007 Corazón de María Wladimir Tapia
2008 Viuda Alegre José Pablo Zulueta
2009 Los Exitosos Pells Guido Wedell
2010 Manuel Rodríguez Francisco Casimiro Marcó del Pont Chilevisión
2011-2012 La Doña Pedro Lisperguer
2016 Narcos Abel Escobar Netflix
2017 Os Días eram Assim Globo

References

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  1. ^ "Revolución Democrática formaliza inscripción ante Servel y se convierte en tercer partido en hacerlo en el año". Emol. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Alfredo Castro (1955-) - Memoria Chilena".
  3. ^ "The Starlight International Cinema Award is Presented to Alfredo Castro at the Venice Film Festival". CinemaChile. 2019-09-04. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  4. ^ "The Academy Invites 487 New Members for 2024: See the Full List". A.frame. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
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