Radio Man | |
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 Radio Man in 2021 | |
| Born | Craig Castaldo 1950 (age 73–74) |
| Other names | Craig Schwartz |
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| Years active | 1989–present |
Craig Castaldo, known as Radio Man (or Radioman) (born 1950)[1] is an American background actor known from making over 300 cameo appearances in films and TV shows. He is known for wearing a radio around his neck.[2]
He has made cameos in the TV series 30 Rock and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and in the films The Departed, Shutter Island, Just My Luck, Romance & Cigarettes, Elf, Two Weeks Notice, Glitter, Keeping the Faith, Godzilla, Ransom, Big Daddy, Mr. Deeds, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Other Woman, The Bourne Trilogy, and other films and television shows.
He is famous in New York City[3] and has been written about in The New York Times[4][5] and the New York Daily News.[6] Whoopi Goldberg took him to the Oscars as her guest one of the years she hosted.[7]
Castaldo grew up in Brooklyn. He once worked for the U.S. Postal Service. Castaldo served in the Vietnam War. He was homeless for almost two years, staying at Penn Station. He found a job at a newsstand in Manhattan and acquired subsidized housing in Brooklyn. [4][5]
His first cameo occurred when he was asked to move so that a shot could be filmed at his newsstand. When he refused, he ended up in the scene. At the time, Castaldo was homeless and suffered from alcoholism. He would often heckle actors who passed by his newsstand.[5] He began visiting movie sets in 1989, starting with The Fisher King, in which he met Robin Williams.[4] He was able to locate film sets with the help of Teamsters or by finding "No Parking" signs that indicate an upcoming shoot.[5] In the 1990s when he was drinking he was arrested and had a 6-month evaluation at a psychiatric hospital, but he continued to visit film sets after his release. He gave up alcohol and has not had a drink since. [5] As of 2004, he lived in Brooklyn and earned money from selling autographs[8] as well as from his film appearances.[5]
According to The New York Times, he is a life member of the Screen Actors Guild and "knows the whos, whens and wheres of just about every film production in New York."[5] As an actor, he typically plays homeless or disheveled-looking characters.[5]
A documentary film about Radio Man entitled Radioman[9][10] was released in April 2012, premiering at Toronto's Hot Docs documentary film festival. Directed by Mary Kerr, the film won the Grand Jury Prize at Doc NYC. [11] It features such stars as Tom Hanks, Robin Williams, Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Johnny Depp, Matt Damon, Ricky Gervais, James Gandolfini, Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Whoopi Goldberg, Helen Mirren, Tilda Swinton, Alfred Molina, Ron Howard, Shia LaBeouf, and Tina Fey talking to and about Radio Man. He was present at screenings of the film and participated in the Q&A sessions. He reportedly stated that Robin Williams was his favorite celebrity and that Martin Scorsese is his favorite director to work with.