---
name: "Robert W. Castle"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/robert-w-castle"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "29 August 1929"
died: "27 October 2012"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 84
updated: "2026-09-16T21:17:40.334636+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Robert W. Castle

Actor. Born 29 August 1929 in Jersey City. Died 27 October 2012.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 29 August 1929, Jersey City
- **Died:** 27 October 2012
- **Active:** 1991–2008

## Biography

Robert W. Castle was an American actor and Episcopal priest. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, he trained at St. Lawrence University and Berkeley Divinity School before serving as a rector, including at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Harlem from 1987 to 2000. He was a civil rights activist and the subject of the 1992 documentary *Cousin Bobby*, directed by his first cousin once removed, Jonathan Demme.

Castle’s appearance in the documentary led to acting roles in more than a dozen films, frequently as priests or authority figures. He is known for playing Bud Beckett in *Philadelphia* (1993), a priest in *The Silence of the Lambs* (1991) and *Sleepers* (1996), Father O’Brien in *Big Night* (1996), and General Wilson in *The Manchurian Candidate* (2004). He died in Holland, Vermont, in 2012.

*Sources: imdb.com, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Rachel Getting Married* (2008), Fi1m 84, as Rehearsal Dinner Guest — [page](https://film.one/film/rachel-getting-married.md)
- *Big Night* (1996), Fi1m 84, as Father O'Brien — [page](https://film.one/film/big-night.md)
- *Philadelphia* (1993), Fi1m 76, as Bud Beckett — [page](https://film.one/film/philadelphia.md)
- *The Silence of the Lambs* (1991), Fi1m 91, as Priest on Chilton's Plane (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/the-silence-of-the-lambs.md)

## Also known for

- *Sleepers* (1996), Priest
- *Cop Land* (1997), Chaplain at Joey's Funeral
- *The Manchurian Candidate* (2004), General Wilson
- *The Addiction* (1995), Narrator / Priest
- *Lost Souls* (2000), Josef the Doorman
- *The Funeral* (1996), Priest
- *The Truth About Charlie* (2002), Flea Market Bargain Hunter
- *Beloved* (1998), Mr. Sawyer

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/robert-w-castle