Rafael Casal

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Rafael Casal
Rafael Casal at the 2019 TIFF premier of Bad Education
Casal in 2018
Born
Rafael Santiago Casal

(1985-08-08) August 8, 1985 (age 36)
Berkeley, California, U.S.
Occupation
  • Actor
  • Poet
  • Writer
  • Rapper
  • Producer
  • Director
  • Showrunner
Years active2008–present

Rafael Santiago Casal (born August 8, 1985) is an American writer, actor, producer, and showrunner originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. Casal's first television appearance was performing on three seasons of HBO's Def Poetry Jam, and as a creator online with millions of YouTube/Facebook views for his music, poetry, web shorts, and political commentary.

His theater-in-verse work has brought him around the country and the world both in the realm of activism and arts performance at hundreds of colleges and venues. Casal is the co-founder and artistic director of the BARS workshop at The Public Theater in New York.[1]

Early life[]

Casal grew up in Berkeley and Oakland, California. He was expelled from Berkeley High School after two years and earned his diploma through an alternative independent study program.[2] Casal is of Irish, Spanish, and Cuban descent.[3]

Career[]

Poetry[]

When he was 18, Casal appeared on HBO's Def Poetry Jam. At the same time, he was touring, performing, and teaching nationwide with YouthSpeaks. He is a two time Brave New Voice Poetry Slam Festival champion. Casal spent three years serving as creative director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's First Wave Spoken Word and Hip Hop Arts Learning Community while earning his degree at night.[2]

Music[]

In July 2010, Casal released The BAY BOY Mixtape with Daveed Diggs under the Getback Productions crew the pair co-founded with Chinaka Hodge. Casal has also released several solo albums: Mean Ones (2012), As Good As Your Word (2008), and Monster (2009).[2] In 2018, Casal and Diggs released the Collin and Miles EPs to accompany their film, Blindspotting.[4] Casal has written songs for both seasons of the Apple TV+ animated sitcom Central Park, including titles "The Park is Mine" and "My Worst Day".

Film and television[]

In 2018, Casal and Daveed Diggs released their premiere film, Blindspotting, which they had been writing for 10 years. The pair wrote, produced, and starred in the film that uses verse to tell the story of their hometown of Oakland.[5] Casal also appeared in supporting roles in Bad Education, The Good Lord Bird, and the second revival of Are You Afraid Of The Dark?. Recently, Casal had a hand in the Netflix documentary series, Amend: The Fight for America. Casal is set to make his film directorial debut in First Sight, a sci-fi romantic comedy about falling asleep to find the person of your dreams.[6]

In 2020, it was confirmed that the Casal and Diggs written film Blindspotting would be adapted as a comedy-drama series to the same name, with Casal set to star, direct, executive produce, and act as showrunner.[7] Blindspotting (2021) follows Ashley, a character played by Jasmine Cephas Jones both in the film and television adaptation, as she navigates life's ups and downs after Miles is unexpectedly incarcerated. The series was picked up by Lionsgate Television, and is to be distributed by STARZ. The series had its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival 2021 on June 11, 2021. The series became available for streaming June 13, 2021 on STARZ and STARZPLAY.

Filmography[]

Film Category Role Year Notes
The Break Up Short Boy 2008 Writer
Ricochet in Reverse Short Dylan Klebold 2010
The Away Team TV Mini-Series Cal 2014 Creator, Producer, Director
Mali Music: Beautiful TV Movie 2014 Producer
Frozen Hearts Short 2015 Producer
Blindspotting Film Miles 2018 Co-Producer, Co-Writer
Rachel Dratch's Late Night Snack TV Series Elliot 2018 Season 2 Episode 7
Before the Fire Film Upcoming Producer
Stucco Short Throne - Crowning Arm Upcoming
Bad Education[8] Film Kyle Contreras 2019
First Sight [6] Film Upcoming Director
Are You Afraid Of The Dark? TV Mini-Series Mr. Top Hat 2019
The Good Lord Bird TV Mini-Series General John Cook 2020
Blindspotting TV Series Miles 2021 Exec. Producer, Director, Writer, Showrunner

References[]

  1. ^ "Rafael Casal | Welcome". Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Danzig, Christopher. "The Def Poetry of Rafael Casal". East Bay Express. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  3. ^ Betancourt, Manuel. "Rafael Casal on Creating a Complex Portrait of Oakland's Race & Class Dynamics in 'Blindspotting'". Remezcla. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  4. ^ "Music from Blindspotting (2018)". Tunefind. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  5. ^ Dry, Jude (2018-07-27). "'Blindspotting': How Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal Made the First Buddy Comedy About Gentrification and White Privilege". IndieWire. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b N'Duka, Amanda (2018-10-05). "'Blindspotting' Team Returning To Lionsgate With 'First Sight' Feature; Rafael Casal To Direct". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  7. ^ Otterson, Joe (2020-09-10). "'Blindspotting' Series Starring Jasmine Cephas Jones Gets Greenlight at Starz". Variety. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  8. ^ "Rafael Casal". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
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