Adam Rodriguez on His First Starring Role and EP Credit in CBS' "A Christmas Proposal"

quotI am baffled by it tooquot Rodriguez told MediaVillage in an exclusive interview quotAnd I don39t mean that from a cocky standpoint Yeah it is an odd thing so many people I know in this business have had this opportunity so many more times than it presented itself to me Not that there were tons of leading roles being handed out to Latin leading men It39s just not who they were looking for It39s nice that CBS is in a place now where they are aware of making those kinds of choicesquotSome of the choices in A Christmas Proposal are his That39s because Rodriguez is experiencing another first on this executive producerquotBeing an executive producer was something I wanted to make contingent upon making my acting dealquot he explained quotAll the years I am doing this I have directed and written and I wanted the latitude to bring my sensibility to the project knowing I was going to be the leadquotShot over three weeks in Vancouver with Latinos in the main roles the film focuses on an uppermiddleclass family that has achieved the American dream as top lawyers The plot centers around Rodriguez as Julian Diaz a hardcharging attorney who wants to follow in his father39s footsteps and run the family firm However his father is considering appointing Julian39s brother because he seems more settled and has a familyquotIt was really important to me that we were not a firstgeneration familyquot Rodriguez said about the Diaz family quotWe wanted them to look and feel and sound like they had been Americans for more than one generation Yes new immigrant stories absolutely need to be told for any ethnic group They are always a struggle but that39s not who these people werequotThe title broadcasts what happens Julian and Maria Jessica Camacho pictured above with Rodriguez meet when she picks him up as a fare A chef whose dream is to own food trucks Maria also drives for a ride service The trip to his family39s exquisite home is long enough for her to recognize that Julian is a selfcentered jerk When he leaves his phone in her car Maria returns it and unwittingly becomes entangled in Julian39s spontaneous lie that she39s his girlfriend Of course they dislike each other and then they fall in loveThe film which ushers Christmas movies back onto CBS for the first time in 11 years is one of a couple of current projects for Rodriguez He serves as a judge and mentor on Finding Magic Mike premiering on HBO Max December 16 It39s a competition series for guys who need to get their groove back Rodriguez was one of theamp160 dancers in Magic Mike He39s also had a recurring role on Ordinary Joe an NBC freshman dramaRodriguez has always hustled and it isn39t surprising that he39s adding producer to his resume business has long interested him Growing up in New City New York he was supposed to attend his father39s alma mater Cardinal Hayes in The Bronx But quotthat would have required him to drive me to school every day and that would have meant I would have had to go to school every dayquot he saidSo he attended public school thinking he might be good enough for pro baseballquotI was told by enough people who knew what they were talking about that it was possiblequot Rodriguez said but without that whiff of melancholy that often shrouds a high school jock39s memories quotBetween injuries and a lack of discipline the kind of discipline it requires to be successful at anything baseball was not going to happenquotHe enrolled at Rockland Community College where he had a GPA of around 081 Then he decided to become a stockbroker Two weeks shy of obtaining his license he had an epiphany while listening to a motivational speaker However it wasn39t what the speaker intendedquotHe was talking about how to swim with the sharks without getting eaten alivequot Rodriguez recalled Even though the speaker39s props included a sledgehammer and a cinderblock he found himself focusing on the audience quotNobody there looked healthy or happy or wanting to be there and I realized I could end up getting stuck in this lifequot he said quotThe Ghost of Christmas Future visited me in that moment I could start to like it and make this money Instead I quitquotRodriguez knew he liked acting He got himself hired as an extra worked as a hotel bellman did demolition work on construction sites bartended and waited tables His dad had a buddy a consultant on NYPD Blue That old friend invited Rodriguez to a dinner where the aspiring actor chatted with another guestquotIt turned out his friend was David Milch creator and producer of NYPD Bluequot Rodriguez said quotI just enjoyed talking to him and he said 39We are creating this new show and there is a character we would like you to audition for39quotWhile the show Milch mentioned didn39t work out Rodriguez wound up on Brooklyn South Felicity All Souls Resurrection Blvd Roswell Ugly Betty The Night Shift Empire Jane the Virgin and Criminal MindsNow he39d like to produce more and spend time with his family of two girls 7 amp189 and 5 and his 18monthold son When Rodriguez considers goals he cites personal before professionalquotFirst and foremost just really being the best husband and father I can be is always the top of the listquot Rodriguez concluded quotIn terms of work just making good choices for myself Over the years I have always been lucky enough to land in places I enjoy being to hopefully get an opportunity to continue to do work I can find some satisfaction in doingquotA Christmas Proposal premieres Sunday December 12 at 830 pm on CBS It will also stream live and ondemand on the CBS app and ParamountClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Adam Rodriguez on His First Starring Role and EP Credit in CBS' "A Christmas Proposal"

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Adam Rodriguez on His First Starring Role and EP Credit in CBS' "A Christmas Proposal"

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