Biography
Enrique Castillo began his film career in 1961 but it wasn't until 1983's Oscar nominated "El Norte," about a brother and sister's desperate flight north to become illegal immigrants, that his career began to gain traction. Indicative of the roles that Castillo would choose throughout his career, "El Norte" detailed the hope and desperation that inspires immigrants to go north and the struggles they face once there. In the '90s, after several small film and television roles, Castillo gained critical acclaim as Chicano prison leader Montana in the drama "Blood In, Blood Out/b. An epic about Chicano identity, violence, and brotherhood, the film costarred Benjamin Bratt, Damian Chapa, and Jesse Borrego. Two years later he was given a small part in the drama "My Family," about several generations of an immigrant family, and Oliver Stone's historical biopic "Nixon," starring Anthony Hopkins. In 1998 Castillo was cast as Levi Gomez in acclaimed British director Stephen Frears's romantic western "The Hi-Lo Country," starring Billy Crudup and Woody Harrelson as two cowboys adapting to a changing world. In the '00s Castillo continued to make films about the borderlands and the immigrant experience, appearing with Woody Allen in the New Mexican comedy "Picking Up the Pieces" and as Don Miguel in the drama "A Beautiful Life." On television Castillo played the criminal underboss, Cesar, on the crime comedy series "Weeds."
