Episode “Unsaid” Airs Monday, Feb, 17th, on ABC, 10/9c
By Elia Esparza
Ask any actor how important it is to be booked on a primetime mega hit television series, and I’m pretty certain most will say it truly helps to boost their career. Well Karina Noelle Castillo‘s career got a major boost when she booked a guest starring role on one of America’s favorite show The Good Doctor on the ABC Network. The episode airs Monday, February 17th at 10 P.M.
In Monday’s episode (ABC, 10/9c), titled Unsaid, Castillo plays the mother of a young deaf boy from Georgetown, Texas, Cory Beltran (Zade Garcia) who was born without a fully formed trachea. Unable to speak, he is a good candidate for an experimental procedure that would give him a voice, but his parents (Castillo and Matthew Bridges) are hesitant to let the chief of surgery and her two residents proceed.
As a young girl Castillo learned to Sign from a Deaf friend to be able to communicate with her. For her role in The Good Doctor she was finally able to utilize her “signing” skills as the parent characters in this episode communicate with their son thru Sign language.
It is definitely a busy time for Castillo and it all began picking up speed when she booked a featured role in the final episode on ABC’s hit shows Grey’s Anatomy and then General Hospital. This year is already proved to be quite busy for her with a role on FX’s Better Things and a co-starring role on Sony Spectrum Originals L.A.’s Finest, in addition to booking two commercials and two online shows.
We caught up with the versatile and talented Karina Noelle Castillo to talk about her upcoming The Good Doctor role and her career overall.
LatinHeat: Congrats on your latest booking! And, it’s on a mega primetime hit show! Can you tell us a little about your role?
Karina Noelle Castillo: This is, by far, the best experience on set that I’ve ever had. From the moment I touched down in Vancouver everyone was so kind and genuine. The cast all love working on the show and it made for such a positive experience. They move fast and efficiently and our director, Mike Listo, was very easy to work with. They’re a big family and they made me and the other guests feel very welcomed.
About my role, when I was in high school a classmate of mine was Deaf and taught me conversational ASL and I fell in love with the language. Later, as an adult, a coworker of mine who is Deaf and very involved in the community took me under his wing and as we became friends I learned more and more ASL. He’s also the one who gave me my Sign name.
LH: Overall, how challenging was this role compared to others? The experience of also being on a primetime series?
KNC: It was great! As for the experience as a parent of a Deaf child, I’d say the most challenging was to be authentic and respectful of the Deaf community.
It was imperative that we used the correct signs and the correct structure because it is very different from our normal English sentence structure. We worked extra hard to do our ASL communication justice. And, making sure we did not overstep our boundaries because we didn’t want to represent ourselves as Deaf since we weren’t and neither were the doctor characters. And, that was the most important thing that was different from any other role I’ve ever represented.
It’s the same as actors portraying other cultures and interpreting traditions, or groups of people who are in a different economic social level or another ethnicity that they are not in real life. It is always important for actors to respect their character’s background because there are always people watching and will consider it disrespectful if something is not authentic or stereotype interpretations.
LH: So, you really prepared for your ASL scenes?
KNC: Yes. We had two meetings with ASL interpreters to make sure that we were using the proper Sign structure, so that we could do it in a way that was still true to the script but also respectful. And, I really researched it and conferred with the interpreters on set.
LH: Is the audition process for major network shows the same as any other acting auditions, say for streaming TV or theater or indie films?
KNC: Every project is different when it comes to what happens in the room. For example, some will give you direction, others do one take only, and other times, the director may be in the room instead of just the casting associate. Most big shows seem to no longer have callbacks as you’re put on tape for production and casting is just good at what they do. For The Good Doctor the casting process was as easy as it gets. I was hired from my first read. They put me on tape and sent it over to the producers/director, and the next I heard was that I had been hired!
LH: You are the definition of working actor. How do you manage the daily hustle, staying above the fray, and staying optimistic and focused?
KNC: Having a steady support group makes all the difference when it comes to the hustle. They’re there to lift me up and when times have gotten tough (and oh boy have they been tough) they were always there. I’m very lucky. And when it comes to staying focused…after so many years of desperately grinding away, the focus is now just always there. Maybe out of survival at first. Hah. But once you’ve found a groove in the work you do the focus comes from the confidence in knowing yourself and what you’re capable of. After that, rest is all surrender.
LH: Your father is an accomplished actor, what is the best advice he gave you at the start of your acting career?
KNC: Go and live your life. Make choices and mistakes. And if you get in trouble, ‘I’ll always be here.’ It works for all areas of my life and it’s made me the woman and actor I am today. Although I did make some horrible mistakes!
LH: Looking back to the great actors in the classic golden era, who inspires you?
KNC: There are plenty of actors, past and present, that inspire me but, honestly, I’m in awe of everyone who is doing the work. I’m inspired by those who take risks over and over. I’m endlessly inspired by stories of famous actors who are Good People. The ones who are thoughtful and generous. Those are the people I aspire to be like.
LH: Before any audition, do you have any specific routine you do to prepare?
KNC: I used to have routines and mantras. I would approach every role as if it was the most important role I could possibly take on. I think that approach works for a lot of people. It did not work for me. Now…I just do the damn work. I don’t take myself seriously. I memorize the lines. I walk in with confidence. And when the audition is over… I forget about it and live my life. I surrender to the role.
LH: What’s next for you?
KNC: I’m going to be collaborating with a director that I’ve worked with before, Salvador Paniagua, he’s the creator of the web series, Funny Brown People, and has this wonderful script that we’re basically taking a snippet of it, kind of like a ‘proof-of-concept’ and I’m excited about it. Also, pilot season — I have to prepare for that. As you know it can get pretty crazy for actors during this time. Also, I just recently also did an episode of L.A. Finest that’s a Sony Spectrum Originals, starring Jessica Alba and Gabrielle Union.
Castillo’s other prime time credits include FX’s Better Things (2020), ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy (2019), and General Hospital (2019), CBS’s Criminal Minds (2018). Acting is highly competitive and not everyone succeeds. But with the right training, talent, specialized skills and heart, along with the right representation the sky’s the limit.
Karina Noelle Castillo is repped by CSP Management, Sovereign Talent Group (Talent Agent), and The Herrera Agency (Publicist).
Thank you! Karina Noelle Castillo!
The Good Doctor is produced by Sony Pictures Television and ABC Studios, with an ensemble cast starring Freddie Highmore, Antonia Thomas, Nicholas Gonzalez, Beau Garrett, Hill Harper, Richard Schiff, Will Yun Lee and Tamlyn Tomita. The series, which is filmed primarily in Vancouver, British Columbia, is currently finishing up its third season, and has just been renewed for a fourth!