Meet Tony Rodriguez | Actor/Voice Actor/Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tony Rodriguez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tony, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
I had moved to New York City to pursue stage performing – but after Sept 2001 I sort of fell into a depression of sorts for several years and gave up any career aspirations. When I discovered a comedy theater, Upright Citizens Brigade, I fell back in love with performing, especially comedy and I decided I wanted to go for it and I haven’t really looked back since.
Also around this time, I started working with a career coach, Betsy Capes at Capes Coaching, who specializes with people in creative fields. She helped me get clearer about setting goals and practical steps towards reaching them.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m an actor and voice actor who mainly works in comedy. I feel so lucky to be involved in comedy communities in both New York City and L.A. that have given me a sense of community and inspiration. I’ve done a lot of improvisation over the years and I’d say it has helped me with my screen and stage work by keeping me ‘in the moment,’ working with others and making choices as an actor fairly quickly. But besides that, I feel like performing live and working with fellow creatives has kept me going during the sometimes long lulls between jobs.

A few years ago I got a break in the voice acting world after trying for many, many years. I’d put out a video on social media asking the producers of a very popular animated tv show if they’d consider casting me in a role that had been on the air for several years. The character was a gay, Cuban, like myself, and was being brilliantly (but not representatively) voiced by the phenomenal Hank Azaria. I did not actually think anyone other than fellow comedians would even see the video.
At the same time, a fellow creative friend, Drew Mackie, put out his own video of all the gay jokes in the history of the show at the time. A show runner, Matt Selman, came upon both videos and then asked the writers room if anyone had ever heard of me. It so happened someone I used to perform with in NYC, Christine Nangle, had been newly hired as a writer/producer and she vouched for me. This led to a ‘test’ audition where I eventually booked a recurring role on a dream show : The Simpsons, where I’m currently on my 6th season. Woohoo!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love Griffith Park so much. It’s huge, provides fantastic views of the city and has great hiking trails that are almost never crowded . It’s basically an outdoor therapist and gym rolled into one.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’m so grateful to the comedy community and my peers in the television and film industry. I’m lucky to have several people who’ve helped me with both inspiration and guidance : Lennon Parham; Stephen Guarino; Drew Mackie; Christine Nangle. And (of course!) Hank Azaria and Matt Selman at ‘The Simpsons’ for giving me a shot at a dream.

Website: https://Imdb.me/tonyrodriguez

Instagram: @thetonyrodrig

Twitter: @thetonyrodrig

Youtube: @thetonyrodriguez

Image Credits
Kit Karzen; Andrew Max Levy; Sonya Katarina