Douglas Andrew Costello, 40, of Austin, Texas, and formerly of Wareham, died in an accidental fall while hiking on Sunday, November 17, 2019 in Austin.

Born in Wareham, Doug was a cum laude graduate of Tabor Academy, class of 1997, and a 2001 honors graduate of Brown University. At Tabor, he was on the speech and debate team, played tennis and squash and developed a love of acting which continued at Brown where he appeared in several college productions.

Doug moved to Austin following graduation, and pursued a career in acting, one of his many passions which included film, literature, and a commitment to social issues, including volunteer work on voter registration. He studied Meisner method acting at In The Moment Studio and worked with independent filmmakers. He appeared in many of their films as well as in several stage and street theatrical performances.

To pay the bills, he did commercial work including a WhataBurger television commercial, which became a local hit and the subject of amusement for his many friends. He also worked as a server in several restaurants, including Sao Paulo and Vespaio where he was last employed. In addition, he had worked as a pedicab driver. He also played in a soccer league, an interest forged in youth soccer in Wareham.

More than anything, Doug loved people and developed a large community of caring friends in Austin. Many of his high school and college friends had moved across the country or overseas, but he never lost contact and was planning a reunion with college friends in Paris where he had spent a year studying and working for an environmental agency and taking acting classes at the University of Paris Sorbonne. He was fluent in French and, as a high school senior, finished first among American students at a French-speaking competition in Quebec. In addition to France, his college travels took him to American Samoa, where he worked on a diabetes study of the local population, and to Yosemite National Park where he assisted at the Native American center.

He was an avid hiker and loved the trails in the Austin area and in West Texas. Family trips took him to Big Bend and several other national and state parks, as well as the Azores, Hawaii and lreland. He also loved the ocean and body-surfing and was an excellent swimmer. Many family summer vacations were spent at an old weather-worn cottage on Ocracoke lsland, off the outer banks of North Carolina.

He loved returning home for holidays and family reunions and will be dearly missed.

He is survived by his parents, Andrew and Geraldine of Wareham, his brother, Terrence of Malden, his niece, Laura Boehm-Costello; his aunts and uncles, Nancy and Peter Spindler of Dartmouth, Robert Costello and Rhonda Ray, of Portland, OR, Kristine and Elton Harris of Painted Post, NY, Janet Gable of Boston and Frank Gable of Florida; and his cousins, Chelsea Saltos, of Providence, Rl, Kyla Spindler of Dartmouth, Hopi Ruplin, of Portland, OR, and Freya Galeazzi of Raleigh, NC.

His family recently attended a celebration of his life in Austin and a local memorial will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity.  To leave a message of condolence for the family please visit www.warehamvillagefuneralhome.com.