| David Castañeda | |
| Birth Date: | 24 October 1989 |
| Birth Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 2009–present |
| Alma Mater: | California State University, Fullerton (BA) |
David Castañeda (born October 24, 1989) is an American actor. In 2019, Castañeda began portraying Diego Hargreeves in the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy.
Castañeda was born October 24, 1989,[1] in Los Angeles[2] and was raised in Sinaloa, Mexico. He returned to the United States when he was 14 and attended William Workman High School in California. Castañeda initially studied civil engineering in college with the intention of taking over the family business after he finished his studies. However, he became interested in film direction and switched to major in film production and international business in 2007 at California State University, Fullerton.[3] [4] Castañeda then moved into acting and started auditioning for roles. He studied part-time while pursuing an acting career, eventually graduating in 2015.[5]
Castañeda has been involved in acting since he was 17,[6] but only started taking acting more seriously after he volunteered for a role when a director asked for actors to participate in his film during a seminar while at university. He played various minor roles in a number of productions, such as End of Watch, and also acted as a main character in a short film Maddoggin, which won the audience award at the NBC Universal Short Cut Film Festival. In 2013, he landed a role playing Jorge on ABC Family's TV series Switched at Birth.[7] In late 2016, he was cast in the role of Hector in the film released in 2018.[8] He also has a major role in an independent film El Chicano, a supporting role in Jean-Claude Van Damme's We Die Young as well as minor roles in films such as the Billy Crystal's film Standing Up, Falling Down.
In 2017, he was cast in his most prominent role yet playing Diego Hargreeves / Number 2 in The Umbrella Academy,[9] which was released on Netflix in February 2019.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Drive-By Chronicles: Sidewayz | Saul | |
| 2011 | Maddoggin | Pedro González | Short film |
| 2012 | End of Watch | Mexican Cowboy | |
| 2015 | Freaks of Nature | Tony Cerone | |
| Human Behavior | Mark | Short film | |
| 2016 | Love Sanchez | Rene | |
| 2017 | The Ascent | Louis Medina | |
| Corrida | Jefe | Short film | |
| Why? | He | Short film | |
| 2018 | Hector | ||
| El Chicano | Shotgun | ||
| 2019 | Standing Up, Falling Down | Ruis | |
| We Die Young | Rincon | ||
| 2020 | The Tax Collector | Vargas | |
| 2021 | The Guilty | Officer Tim Geraci | |
| 2025 | Ballerina | TBA | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Lie to Me | Boyfriend | 1 episode |
| 2009, 2012 | Southland | Tough Kid, Carlos | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Switched at Birth | Jorge | 7 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | Jane the Virgin | Nicholas | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Bound and Babysitting | Eddie | TV movie |
| The Player | Listo Salvado | 1 episode | |
| 2016 | Blindspot | Carlos | 1 episode |
| Going Dark | Sam | Unaired TV pilot | |
| 2017 | The Legend of Master Legend | Mandy Mandujano | Unaired TV pilot[10] |
| 2019–2024 | The Umbrella Academy | Diego Hargreeves | Main cast |
| 2022 | Robot Chicken | Interrogator / My Strange Addiction Narrator (voice) | Episode: "May Cause Involuntary Political Discharge" |
| 2023 | Poker Face | Jimmy | Episode: "Escape from Shit Mountain" |
| Most Dangerous Game | Victor Suero[11] | Main cast (season 2)[12] |