Seb Castro

Born on Long Island, New York, Castro was raised in both New York and Georgia. At age 17, he was disowned by his parents (both of them Jehovah's Witnesses) for being gay, leading him to finance his education independently in the Savannah College of Art and Design.{{cite web|last=Ignacio|first=Alwyn|title=Sebastian Castro: Out of the Bubble|url=http://www.tribune.net.ph/life-style/item/11229-sebastian-castro-out-of-the-bubble.html|work=The Daily Tribune|accessdate=April 14, 2013|archive-date=March 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320041557/http://www.tribune.net.ph/life-style/item/11229-sebastian-castro-out-of-the-bubble.html|url-status=dead}}

Sebastian Castro came out as gay on a Philippine podcast Beki Nights shortly after releasing his viral music video. When asked why he chose to come out on the GMA Network show H.O.T. TV, he responded, "I know there are lots of people out there that are scared to be themselves."{{cite web|last=Pumaloy|first=Rey|title=Youtube sensation Sebastian Castro: I'm Gay|url=http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/showbiz/pep/297153/youtube-sensation-sebastian-castro-i-am-gay/story/|work=GMANetwork.com|date=February 28, 2013 |accessdate=February 28, 2013}}

In 2014, Sebastian Castro and former ABS-CBN Reporter Ryan Chua publicly acknowledged their relationship over social media.{{cite web|last=Chika|first=Lex|title=Ryan Chua at Sebastian Castro, nag-out bilang lovers|url=http://www.pinoyparazzi.com/ryan-chua-sebastian-castro-nag-bilang-lovers/|work=pinoyparazzi.com|date=April 28, 2014 |accessdate=April 28, 2014}} Castro made the announcement during a trip to London where Ryan was undergoing a masters program from City University of London.{{cite web|last=Espiritu|first=Jeffrey|title=Ryan Chua: Pinoy reporter in London|url=https://ph.news.yahoo.com/ryan-chua-pinoy-reporter-london-212645112.html|publisher=Yahoo! News|accessdate=January 16, 2014}} After a public four-year relationship, the two separated in September 2017.{{cite web|last=Acar|first=Aedrianne|title=Actor/Internet sensation Sebastian Castro confirms split with TV reporter Ryan Chua|url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/entertainment/showbiznews/news/34377/actorinternet-sensation-sebastian-castro-confirms-split-with-tv-reporter-ryan-chua/story|work=GMANetwork.com|accessdate=October 6, 2017}}

In April of the following year, several showbiz outlets romantically linked Castro to actor and TV host Paolo Ballesteros after photos of them together surfaced. Neither ever publicly commented on the rumors. In June, Castro acknowledged that a relationship had ended, but never identified who it was with.{{cite web|title=Paolo Ballesteros in a relationship with Sebastian Castro|url=https://www.pep.ph/news/70230/is-paolo-ballesteros-in-relationship-with-sebastian-castro|publisher=Philippine Entertainment Portal|accessdate=January 1, 2018}}{{cite web|title=Have Paolo Ballesteros and Seb Castro broken up?|url=https://entertainment.inquirer.net/280565/paolo-ballesteros-seb-castro-broken|publisher=Inquirer|accessdate=January 1, 2018}}{{cite web|title=Paolo Ballesteros's alleged reason of keeping his relationship quiet with rumored bf Sebastian Castro|url=https://newsfeed.ph/entertainment/celebrity-watch/27065/paolo-ballesteros-alleged-reason-keeping-relationship-private-rumored-bf-sebastian-castro/|publisher=NewsFeed|accessdate=January 1, 2018}}{{cite web|title=Paolo Ballesteros and Sebastian Castro end their 3 month relationship|url=http://pageone.ph/paolo-ballesteros-and-sebastian-castro-ends-their-3-month-relationship/|publisher=PageOne|accessdate=January 1, 2018|archive-date=June 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628140525/http://pageone.ph/paolo-ballesteros-and-sebastian-castro-ends-their-3-month-relationship/|url-status=dead}}

On February 14, 2013, Castro's first music video "Bubble" appeared on YouTube, quickly garnering over 3 million views. Bubble further popularized the dance crazy "Bubble Pop," particularly in the Philippines.{{cite web|last=Yu|first=Allen|title=The Rise of a Filipino Gay Icon|url=http://bakliterati.net/2013/03/the-rise-of-a-filipino-gay-icon|work=Bakliterati|accessdate=April 14, 2013|archive-date=March 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317192140/http://bakliterati.net/2013/03/the-rise-of-a-filipino-gay-icon/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last=Sablan|first=Mark|title=Tutorial: Sebastian Castro Demonstrates How To 'Bubble Pop'|url=http://www.coconutsmanila.com/random/tutorial-sebastian-castro-demonstrates-how-to-bubble-pop|work=Coconuts Manila|accessdate=April 14, 2013}} The music video was Sebastian Castro's "coming out." Prior to releasing the homo-erotic Bubble music video, Castro was not publicly open about his sexuality.

Castro has landed several major product endorsements in SouthEast Asia, including Jollibee, Pantene Hair, and Sun Cellular.{{cite news|last=San Diego Jr|first=Bayani|title=Meet the Boy in a Pink Bubble|url=http://entertainment.inquirer.net/84751/meet-the-boy-in-a-pink-bubble|newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer|date=March 10, 2013 |accessdate=April 14, 2013}} He was featured among the Philippine Cosmopolitan Bachelors of 2012 and is currently an endorser of Fujifilm, Durex, Cathy Valencia, and Blued.{{cite news|title=James Reid's experimental style in photography|url=http://manilastandard.net/lifestyle/young-life/271532/james-reid-s-experimental-style-in-photography.html|newspaper=The Philippine Star|accessdate=January 1, 2018|archive-date=July 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730210033/http://manilastandard.net/lifestyle/young-life/271532/james-reid-s-experimental-style-in-photography.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last=Faicol|first=Beatrice|title=Get woke to Sebastian Castro on Blued Live|url=http://teammag.ph/get-woke-sebastian-castro-blued-live/|work=teammag.ph|accessdate=October 3, 2017}}{{cite web|last=Alvarez|first=Mark|title=Sebastian Castro: The Hunky Pastelist|url=http://stylerpa.com/home/sebastian-castro-the-hunky-pastelist|work=RPA Style|accessdate=April 14, 2013}}

After being cast in several minor and supporting roles on TV and Film over the course of five years, Sebastian Castro appeared in his first lead role in full feature film 4 Days (2017), an independent film by Filipino director Adolfo Alix Jr.{{cite web|last=Tamayo|first=Frank|title="4 Days"- A film on fumbling through first love in the closet|url=http://teammag.ph/4-days-film-fumbling-first-love-closet/|work=teammag.ph|accessdate=August 27, 2017}}{{cite web|last=Ilaya|first=Felix|title=Pelikula ni Mikoy Morales na '4 Days' magkakaroon na ng commercial release|url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/entertainment/showbiznews/news/34537/pelikula-ni-mikoy-morales-na-4-days-magkakaroon-na-ng-commercial-release/story/|work=gmanetwork.com|accessdate=October 12, 2017}}

PLM Film Society heralded the film as "one of the more inventive films of the genre in recent memory," adding "Mikoy Morales and Sebastian Castro complement each other onscreen, Morales with his tough and heartbreaking take on Mark, and Castro filling Derek full of reservations, doubts and an unspoken multitude of feelings."{{cite web|last=Macarayan|first=Macky|title=The Waiting Game: A review of Adolfo Borinaga Alix Jr.'s "4 Days"|url=http://cinemuralla.wixsite.com/cinemuralla/single-post/2016/08/21/The-waiting-game/|work=cinemuralla.wixsite.com|date=August 21, 2016 |accessdate=August 21, 2016}}

{{reflist}}

• {{facebook|id=Sebastian-Castro-100002114863912|name=Sebastian Castro}}
• {{facebook|id=Sebastian-Castro-251154154902839|name=Sebastian Castro's Bubble Fan Club}}
• {{facebook|id=Sebsters-(Sebastian-Castro-Fan-Page)-464078680277933|name=Sebastian Castro's Sebster Fan Club}}

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Category:1989 births

Category:American expatriates in the Philippines

Category:American LGBTQ people of Asian descent

Category:American people of Peruvian descent

Category:American people of Japanese descent

Category:Male actors from New York (state)

Category:American LGBTQ singers

Category:LGBTQ people from New York (state)

Category:Living people

Category:American gay actors

Category:American gay musicians

Category:People from Oceanside, New York

Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people

Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people