Freddy Rodriguez

This article is about the actor. For the cyclist, see Fred Rodriguez. For the baseball player, see Freddy Rodriguez (baseball).

Freddy Rodriguez
Rodriguez at the Tribeca Film Festival, April 2007
Born	January 17, 1975 (1975-01-17) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1993–present

Freddy Rodriguez (born January 17, 1975) is an American actor known for playing the characters Hector Federico "Rico" Diaz on HBO's Six Feet Under and El Wray in Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror. Recently, he was a recurring cast member on the series Ugly Betty as Giovanni "Gio" Rossi.

Early life

Rodriguez was born in Chicago, Illinois to Puerto Rican parents - a housewife mother and a janitor father. He was raised Roman Catholic. When he was 13, Freddy discovered a theater program for inner-city kids, which led to a scholarship to the Pulaski International School of Chicago, which he attended through 8th grade. Rodriguez is a graduate of the drama program at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago.

Career

His first recognizable role on film was when he landed the part of Pedro Aragon, Jr. in A Walk in the Clouds with Keanu Reeves and Giancarlo Giannini. Afterwards, Rodriguez went on to film roles such as an obnoxious jock in Can't Hardly Wait. He played a Vietnam veteran in Dead Presidents with Chris Tucker and Larenz Tate and was also seen on Scrubs as Carla's brother Marco. As a voice actor, he contributed the voice of Más y Menos on Teen Titans.

Rodriguez portrayed Federico Diaz on the hit HBO series Six Feet Under throughout its five seasons. For this role he received two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Best Ensemble in a Drama Series, an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and a further three SAG nominations (also in the ensemble category).

He starred in The Pest as "Ninja". He also starred in the film Poseidon as a waiter who briefly survives the horrible rogue wave that overcame the ship. He also played a vicious inner city drug dealer named Hector in the 2005 movie, Havoc. In 2006, he played Reggie, a character who only exercised one half of his body, in M. Night Shyamalan's film Lady in the Water. He has recently starred alongside Eva Longoria and Christian Bale in Harsh Times, his first leading character in a major theater release. He was seen on an episode of the hit hospital television show ER, where he played a dying comic inspired by Bill Hicks. He also played a jockey in the movie Dreamer with co-star Dakota Fanning.

He also starred alongside Roselyn Sanchez in the 2003 movie Chasing Papi, playing "Victor" (directed by Linda Mendoza). He played busboy José Rojas in the 2006 film Bobby. He starred as El Wray in Planet Terror, Robert Rodriguez's portion of the double-feature film, Grindhouse. He played the role of Gustavo Brambila in the true-life story Bottle Shock. He appeared in the music video for the Santana song "Into the Night" and also made a cameo appearance as a pilot/flight attendant in the music video for the song "Glamorous" by Fergie. He also starred in the popular video game Saints Row as the voice of Angelo Lopez and in the latest Merry Mixit Gap Christmas Commercial videos. On July 13, 2007, Rodriguez was added to the cast of the ABC comedy series Ugly Betty, in which he played Giovanni Rossi, a sandwich shop owner who became the love interest for Betty Suarez (played by America Ferrera). He made his debut on the series at the start of the second season, appeared in an episode of the third season and reprised the role again late in the fourth season, which was the series' final one.

He most recently played the character of CIA special operative Rick Martinez on the CBS show CHAOS.

Filmography

• CHAOS Rick Martinez (2011)
• "Generator Rex" César Salazar
• Soldiers of Fortune Reed (2011)
• "Ugly Betty" Giovanni (2007–2010)
• "Little Spirit: Christmas in New York" Leo's Father (2008)
• "Nothing Like the Holidays" Jesse Rodriguez (2008)
• "Bottle Shock" Gustavo Brambila (2008)
• "Planet Terror" Wray (2007)
• "Grindhouse" El Wray (2007)
• "ER" Simon (2007)
• "Glamorous - Fergie - Music Video" Flight Attendant (2007)
• "Into the Night - Santana - Music Video" Suicidal man (2007)
• "Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy!" Rupert Garcia (2006)
• "Bobby" Jose (2006)
• "Saints Row" Angelo Lopez(2006)
• "Lady in the Water" Reggie (2006)
• "Poseidon" Marco Valentin (2006)
• "Teen Titans" Más y Menos (2005–2006)
• "American Dad!" Hector (2005)
• "Harsh Times" Mike Alonzo (2005)
• "Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story" Manolin (2005)
• "Six Feet Under" Federico (2001–2005)
• "Havoc" Hector (2005)
• "Scrubs" Marco Espinosa (2003–2004)
• "Static Shock" Fade (2004)
• "Dallas 362" Rubin (2003)
• "Victor and Eddie" Eddie (2003)
• "Chasing Papi" Victor (2003)
• "Pledge of Allegiance" Sean Macintyre (2003)
• "Beyond the City Limits" Topo (2001)
• "For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story" Leonel (2000)
• "Payback" Valet (1999)
• "Oh, Grow Up" Deke (1999)
• "Party of Five" Albert (1999)
• "My Brother Jack" Joey Casale (1998)
• "Can't Hardly Wait" Jock (1998)
• "Shock Television" Eddie (1998)
• "Joseph's Gift" Joseph Keller (1998)
• "The Pest" Ninja (1997)
• "Seduced by Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story" Michael Maldonado (1996)
• "Dead Presidents" Jose (1995)
• "A Walk in the Clouds" Pedro Aragon, Jr. (1995)
• "The Fence" Young Terry Griff (1994)

See also

• List of Puerto Ricans

External links

• Freddy Rodriguez at the Internet Movie Database
• Freddy Rodriguez's Official Twitter
• Let Freddy Rodriguez show you around. — An Associated Press/asap Flash interactive, multimedia piece showing inside some of Freddy Rodriguez's world.