• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Homeless man has lurked in the background in over 100 Hollywood movies

Home> Film & TV

Published 13:32 7 Dec 2022 GMT

Homeless man has lurked in the background in over 100 Hollywood movies

He went from living rough on the streets of New York to attending the Oscars

Emma Guinness

Emma Guinness

A lot of people dream of making an appearance on the silver screen, but one person who likely thought it impossible was a homeless man, who's now done it over 100 times.

Yes, you read that right, a homeless man made it to Tinsel Town, and he's appeared in some of Hollywood's best-known flicks, including Miss Congeniality and Shutter Island.

The man, who is known among the who's who of Hollywood as 'Radioman' because of the radio he wears around his neck, has appeared in the background of many films.

He's known as the homeless man because there was a time when he wasn't paid to be on the streets of New York, but thanks to the film industry, it's now his career.

Advert

His remarkable story has recently resurfaced thanks to TikTok, where it has been doing the rounds.

Radioman - whose real name is Craig Castaldo - has done more than just appear in flicks like Elf and Two Weeks Notice, and he's befriended some of the stars too, including Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg.

Craig Castaldo, known as Radioman.
WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo

In fact, Goldberg liked Radioman so much that she decided to bring him to the Oscars with her when she presented the event - now that's a rags to riches story if we've ever heard one!

Advert

Hanks, meanwhile, said of the former homeless man turned pro: "This man's a cultural institution. You get on a first-name basis with Radio, you know you've made it."

George Clooney has also said of Radioman: "No one shoots in New York and doesn't know who Radioman is."

The late great Robin Williams even described him as 'one of the fixtures of New York'.

On the subject of New York, the Big Apple is the city that Radioman calls home, and in 2012, he explained that he doesn't like to think of himself as a movie star - just a homeless person.

Advert

Radioman's name is very much a reflection of his character.
@realstoriesdocs/TikTok

"I'm just me, Radioman," he said. "I don't like to be pigeonholed into being called a movie star. People look at a guy like me and they think, 'Oh yeah, a bum'."

Radioman explained that he remembers the days when he simply saw the stars as a homeless person living in New York and revealed that he used to heckle them.

He told The Star: "I was drinking at the time. I said, 'Bruce Willis! I think your movie looks like a cartoon!'"

Advert

The extra is now such a Hollywood institution that a documentary has been made about his remarkable story, but he insists that he's not really an actor either, let alone a star in his own right.

The late Robin Williams with Radioman.
WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo

"Radioman? I guess it's a character, yeah, in a way," he said.

"But I am the real one, I am the real Radioman - not really a character at all. I am what I am, it was on the film sets where I became Radioman.

Advert

"I always wanted to be part of... somewhere, to be an actor, to be in the movies. In any capacity.

"I just love it. I just like the atmosphere, I like the people. I like what happens in the movie business. Plus you get free food..."

Absolutely fair play.

Featured Image Credit: Real Stories/YouTube / Shutterstock

Topics: US News, Film and TV

Emma Guinness
Emma Guinness

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

7 hours ago
19 hours ago
22 hours ago
  • 7 hours ago

    Netflix fans binge 100% rated series smashing expectations with 142.9 million hours viewed

    People are getting their friends and family 'hooked'

    Film & TV
  • 7 hours ago

    Netflix viewers urged to watch this ‘perfect’ but ‘underappreciated’ animated comedy that just dropped on streaming

    Fans have long argued the film should be at the people's watch list if they haven't seen it

    Film & TV
  • 19 hours ago

    Netflix viewers have days left to watch forgotten Scarlett Johansson film that caused uproar after highlighting this one myth

    The film only really works by playing into the myth

    Film & TV
  • 22 hours ago

    Top 5 titles you need to binge this weekend include Netflix’s new true crime series featuring serial killer who ‘haunted’ New York

    If you're looking for something to watch, this week's UNILAD Ranked has got you covered

    Film & TV
  • The Cosby Show star Malcolm-Jamal Warner has died suddenly aged 54
  • People are saying 'disturbing' 90's classic is 'one of the most traumatic and realest movies' ever made
  • Netflix fans rave over 'masterpiece' new thriller which 'puts Hollywood movies to shame'
  • Yellowstone actor reveals why he ‘lost everything’ after refusing to kiss another woman in movies or TV shows