April Hernandez Castillo

Born and raised in the Bronx, Nuyorican actor and writer April Hernandez-Castillo explored her interest and talent for acting and performing while attending Hunter College as an undergraduate student. Recounting how her experience at Hunter impacted her career path, Hernandez-Castillo says, “I always tell people acting found me. I was attending Hunter College in the hopes of becoming a nutritionist, but science was not my strongest subject. I decided to look into other courses to fill up my schedule and this is when I discovered Acting 101. As the saying goes, the rest is history. I changed all of my courses and dedicated my semesters to everything in Acting and Theatre.”

The defining moment in the beginning of her career was being cast in the film Freedom Riders in 2007. Recurring roles on the television show ER and Dexter followed, and Hernandez-Castillo continues to work as an actor while simultaneously exploring her talent as a published writer and motivational speaker. In addition to her career in the performing arts, Hernandez-Castillo is supporting the aspirations of her daughter, Summer Rose, who in 2016 was cast as the voice of Alma Rivera in the PBS children’s program Alma’s Way.