HBO presents Season 2 of Looking
Raúl Castillo (Richie) dishes on what’s in store for the upcoming season of the San Francisco-based series
By David-Elijah Nahmod - Jan. 1, 2015
Raúl Castillo (left), as Richie, and Jonathan Groff, as Patrick, in Looking. Photo courtesy of HBO.
When we last saw Patrick (Jonathan Groff) and Richie (Raúl Castillo), the young, seemingly star-struck gay couple on HBO's series Looking, they were taking a "break" from each other.
Viewers were aghast. A week or two earlier, the guys seemed to have cemented their relationship.
In one of the most lovely and lyrical episodes from Looking's first season, Patrick and Richie took a day off from their jobs and spent a very romantic afternoon walking around San Francisco together. They learned more about the city they call home, and more about each other. What happened? And more importantly, what will happen?
Patrick and Richie will be back as Looking returns for its second season, Jan. 11, but are they back together?
"I love the element of surprise, so I'm not going to say," Castillo said in an interview with Echo from Los Angeles. "It's going to reflect the change in the writers. They're doing a beautiful job."
Additionally, the actor promised that Richie would have strong story lines as Looking progressed.
"We'll get to know more about his background, his family," Castillo promised. "Viewers will learn a little bit more about his history, pre-dating San Francisco."
Castillo described Looking for potential new viewers who might not have tuned in for the freshman year.
"It's a very realistic portrayal of the romantic and social lives of a group of men in San Francisco who happen to be gay," he said.
Castillo, who is straight, said feels perfectly at ease portraying the romantic scenes required of his character and reports no issues with kissing Jonathan Groff, his gay co-star.
"There's more stubble with a man," he said with a laugh. "Other than that there's no difference. Portraying relationships are tricky and complicated either way, with a man or with a woman. When you have a great scene partner, it's the easiest and most fun thing in the world."
Castillo takes great pride in his Latino heritage.
"I'm a member of the Labyrinth Theater Company in New York," he said. "It was a Latino company which began in the early ‘90s but it quickly became multicultural. I've been involved as an actor and a playwright since 2006."
On its website, labtheater.org, Labyrinth describes itself as "a home for diverse theater artists and the daring and visceral work they create."
Additionally, one of Castillo's plays found its way to the Windy City. Between You, Me and the Lampshade will premiere at Teatro Vista in Chicago in April 2015. The play is described as "hilarious and searing," and tells the story of a single mom with a teenaged son in South Texas. Complications ensue when they take in an undocumented immigrant who breaks into their trailer.
Castillo said he is excited about the play, and about Looking's second season, returns to HBO Jan. 11.