When you talk about sitcoms featuring blended families, The Brady Bunch is probably the first that comes to mind. But hey, Step by Step had its run, too. Just not the staying power.
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The show ran from 1991-98, first as part of ABC’s “TGIF” night lineup, before moving to CBS for its final season.
It starred Suzanne Summers of Three’s Company fame, and Patrick Duffy of Dallas fame, who each played a single parent with three kids. They get married to form a blended family, becoming the Fosters.
And one of the favorites from the show was Mark Foster, portrayed by then-child actor Christopher Castile. But once the show ended … the world sort of lost track of Castille.
Along with Step by Step, Castile starred in the dog-comedy films Beethoven and Beethoven’s 2nd, and served as the voice of Eugene Horowitz on the popular cartoon Hey! Arnold.
Step By Step
But it was Castile’s nerdy character on Step by Step that really won the hearts of fans and spurned his childhood acting career.
But what happened to him after that?
Well, once the show ended, so did Castile’s career — on purpose. He actually retired from acting, at just 18-years-old.
No, really, he just called it quits, without ever really offering a reason. Perhaps because he wanted to just live his adult life like a normal adult. And today, that is what Castile is doing.
Christopher Castile
Following Step by Step, Castile went on to college and got a master’s degree. He is now a political sciences professor at Biola University in California. He also works as a teacher of American history at Downey High School in the Los Angeles suburbs.
Fittingly, his high school class is called “Step by Step.”
Aside from that, he has remained totally out of the limelight, and even away from social media. His last tweet came in 2011 when he admitted he didn’t really know what he was doing.
“Finally set up twitter on the phone,” he wrote in his final tweet on Oct. 15, 2011. “Thank gosh I’m married to someone who is better with technology than I am.”
Finally set up twitter on the phone. Thank gosh I’m married to someone who is better with technology than I am 🙂
— Christopher Castile (@ChrisCastile) October 15, 2011
A quick Google search reveals just one image of him as an adult, and that too is from a dozen years ago.
Castile has professed to be an Evangelical Christian, perhaps leading to his decision to stray away from the steak-and-jet lifestyle of Hollywood.
So as it turns out, Castile is just as regular as the rest of us. Multiple reports say he has been married to his wife Alison since 2002, and the couple has two children, names and ages unknown.
Clearly, these days, he is just taking life step by step.