Kikey Castillo named one of LA's Rising Talents!

What a thrill it was to open up the Hollywood Weekly magazine and see my name, Kikey Castillo, as one of LA’s Rising Talents.  The recognition is humbling yet Ooh sooo deliciously good it makes me squeal with delight!!   

Christina Anastasiou, has a long standing pulse on the Hollywood hot track so it’s truly an honor to be listed as ‘one to watch’ by her and the magazine.  I congratulate and share in this joy with my fellow Rising Talents - Useless Keys, Chanel Ryan, Ernest Sturm, and Emanuela Belleza, who I’m sure are just as ecstatic to see themselves mentioned. 

Click link to view the online issue Hollywood Weekly magazine August Issue

page excerpt from August Issue of Hollywood Weekly magazine

 a few facts were lost in translation; send me a comment if you would like to know what they were

Can You Catch Nepotism???

Gwyneth Paltrow has it, George Clooney has it, Drew Barrymore has it - even Will Smith’s kids have caught it.  And I certainly want it!  So many people in Hollywood and non-Hollywood have this condition they're living with called "Nepotism" but what happens if you don’t have anyone to give it to you?  Like in my case for instance?  Darn my family who no one but me went into the entertainment biz!  Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.  So, here are my 5 quick tips on... 

"How to Nepotize Yourself"

** warning – these tips may bring extreme success into your life, 

if so, you are obligated to give me nepotism **

1.    Marry – isn’t that what nepotism is all about anyway?  Bringing in your loved ones and family members (by blood or marriage) into a business that you have success in?  So do what a lot of other successful people have done and marry into it.  

2.    Co-llaborate – you have tons of talented friends who are wanting to pursue different avenues in the same business so get together and collaborate on a project that will highlight all of your combined talents and when one of you hits it big, you have to bring the other one along...It’s only fair after all.  

3.    Publicize – the heck out of yourself.  Shall I bring up Angelyne queen of the billboards in Hollywood?  Too outdated you say?  She didn’t even go anywhere you’re thinking?  Well she is a good example of her own marketing machine but ok, how about this one…Justin Bieber, yep the Biebster pimped himself out all over YouTube, the rest is screaming girl mania history.  

4.    Be Brilliant – rock that student film, short film, indie film, commercial, booty shaking video, whatever it happens to be!  Do it and be the best and hopefully you’ll stand out well enough to garner the attention of more work that will translate into mega success.

5. Refer back to #1 

Can we really do it ourselves or is nepotism an exclusive clique that no matter how or what you do, you will never get in?  Who knows!  I’m still trying to figure it out myself.  In the meantime, chin up!  Here is a little “pick me up” video of famous people who did it all on their own without the help of nepotism.

Click Play on video

     

My Syrupy Road to Pancake Fame

Only my close friends and family know that I LOVE LOVE pancakes.  Often getting asked if I want pancakes with my syrup...but in all honesty It's the pancakes, not the syrup that I can't get enough of.  Just writing this is making me crave the sweet, soft, fluffy, yummy cakes that make my soul go Mmmmmm Hmmmm. So it was only all too befitting that I get cast in a commercial about....PANCAKES, how apropos!
  

My national Denny's pancake commercial is currently getting a lot of play on TV.  My friends across the nation from Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Washington, Oregon and of course California have all been telling me they've seen me, or shall I say "Maria", the Denny's waitress, serving up pancakes with a smile.  I admit, it's fun to hear the comments and accolades but it's still a bit surreal to me that I made a national commercial here in LA considering the rough start I had.   

Me and my co-star Kurtis Bedford

When I began my professional acting career in Phoenix I landed my very first audition.  And I kept landing job after job after job.  

One commercial I worked on, even bumped me from an extra to a principal role working along side one of baseball greatest home run hitters - Sammy Sosa.  I got Taft-Hartleyed right on the spot!  My acting journey in Arizona was so easy I thought, it's a sign, I'm destined to go to Hollywood and that's what I did. But let me tell you, what happened to me in Phoenix did NOT happen to me in Hollywood.   

I went on what seem like hundreds of commercial auditions here in LA without getting hardly any callbacks.  Yet I thought I was pretty good at most auditions!  I took classes, I had a commercial agent and I was SAG but not one single commercial paycheck.  I was really beginning to think it was like winning the Lottery...just darn near impossible!  [I thank my commercial agents Pat & Pierre for not giving up on me] 

Then one day, I was on the road to callbacks and after that I booked my very first commercial in Hollywood.  I remember it - oh boy do I remember it.  It revived my faith in me, my career path and just felt freaking great!  I don't know if you remember the HBO series called "Rome", well I did a commercial promo for that show....that never aired LOL.  Yep, shot it, got paid, had a blast working it but it never aired.  Welcome to Hollywood.  

This promo led to another promo then a regular commercial then another and another and then... nothing for a year.  That's how it goes, sometimes you hit sometimes you miss, for months or even years.  Luckily, these past few years have been good to me and I've had a good commercial run.  

Here is my Denny's commercial!! Directed by David Gray, who also directed me in a McDonald's spot I did a year ago.  This also happens a lot, you start working with the same people over and over because once they know you and trust your work they keep bringing you back for more.  But cracking that world...oh boy, that's a WHOLE 'nother blog.