ORLANDO, Fla. — Born in New York City and raised in the Bronx, Demi Castro discovered acting at a very early age and took it as an avenue to further explore his identity and culture. 

He took theatre as an opportunity to defy the barriers that society has often put at the forefront of his personal life.

“I could have been a statistic,” said the Law & Order actor, who takes inspiration from the bible to fight the many challenges that arise in the acting industry. “I think that as an actor, it’s helped me even more because it’s a difficult setting to be in. There are a lot of rejections you go through.” 

The actor of Puerto Rican descent who has notably appeared in Ordinary Joe, Lansky, and Bloodline, says acting has allowed him to further develop his personality and do something that he truly loves. However, despite having success as a professional actor, he says his Latino background has often put him at the forefront of playing stereotypical roles that involve portraying a Mexican character.

According to a report by USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, roughly 30% of Hispanic/Latino speaking characters across 100 movies in 2019 were depicted as criminals. 

“While few top-billed characters were involved with organized crime, more than one-third (39.3%) of the Hispanic/Latino speaking characters portrayed as criminals had some link to crime syndicates,” the report states.

Of the roughly 54,000 professional actors in the workforce, only 4% are Latinos. 

“I would love for casting directors to give us a chance. To put us on the same playing field as everybody else,” said Castro.

There isn’t any concrete data backing how many acting auditions take place in New York City and Los Angeles, but many agencies highlight the Big Apple and LA as prime cities for actors to audition because of their condensed performing arts scene. 

Earlier this summer, SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), the union representing roughly representing 160,000 actors, went on strike pushing actors and writers throughout the country to demand for better working and paying conditions.

“We need an 11% general wage increase in year 1 so our members can recover from record inflation during the previous contract term,” the union wrote on their website. 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the average pay for an actor in the tri-state area is $61.24 and an actor in the city of Los Angeles is reported to make $27.89 per hour. Despite Florida ranking second with the highest numbest of actors at 8,710, there is no data released on how much performers make in the Sunshine State. 

In a letter released to the public, the union is also asking for modernized contracts that include provisions on artificial intelligence and revised self-taped audition requirements for their actors. The acting union joined the strike initially enacted by the Writers Guild of America, which began in May of this year. 

Actors like Castro are also asking for modernized contracts to include provisions on modern-day platforms, such as streaming because they are often not addressed by current contracts, and were first created when streaming platforms did not exist.

Streaming platforms pay residuals, but the amount is significantly less than those from broadcast television. According to the SAG-AFTRA, several media companies, such as Apple and Netflix, have refused to negotiate pay raises for performers and the sharing of streaming revenue.

A proud Latino actor, Castro looks at the current strikes as an opportunity to reform the acting industry into a more equitable one.

“Find something that you can do in the meantime [during the strikes],” said Castro. “Find something else that you can do that you love, but don’t give up on your dream.”