Mel Rodriguez

Melvin Dimas Rodríguez (born June 12, 1973) is an American actor and comedian, best known for starring as Nurse Patsy de la Serda on the HBO comedy Getting On, as Todd Rodriguez on the Fox comedy The Last Man on Earth, and as Ernie Gomes on the Showtime drama On Becoming a God in Central Florida. Other notable works include recurring as Marco Pasternak on AMC's Better Call Saul and co-starring on the short-lived Fox sitcoms Running Wilde and Enlisted. In 2021, Rodriguez appeared in the crime television series CSI: Vegas.^[1]

Mel Rodríguez
Rodriguez at 2014 Imagen Awards
Born	Melvin Dimas Rodríguez (1973-06-12) June 12, 1973 (age 51) Miami, Florida, U.S.
Education	State University of New York, Purchase (BFA)
Occupation(s)	Actor and comedian
Years active	1999–present

Life and career

Rodríguez was born in Miami, Florida, and grew up in its Little Havana neighborhood. He first pursued a career in boxing, until he was led onto the path of acting by his high school teacher at age 17, first starring in an AIDS awareness play entitled The Inner Circle with Pedro Zamora. He dropped out of high school and managed to receive a scholarship, at the prestigious theatre arts and film conservatory at SUNY Purchase. After his graduation, Rodríguez stayed in New York, managed a cigar shop, and worked primarily in theatre. He did his first role on screen in 1999 in an episode of the legal drama television series Law & Order, which was filming in the state. Rodríguez then moved to Los Angeles, focusing more on his career in the film industry and less on his acting on stage.^[2] His first role in a full-length feature film was in the 1999 comedy Wirey Spindell. He achieved his breakthrough by scoring the recurring role of Frank on the ABC comedy series George Lopez in 2002.^[3]

Rodríguez is most known for his recurring roles as Sgt. Núñez on Community and SPC Chubowski on the Fox sitcom Enlisted. He portrayed Marco Pasternak, the best friend and partner-in-crime of Jimmy McGill in the first and third seasons of Better Call Saul. He had a brief role as Officer Morales in the 2002 film Panic Room, and was a main cast member on The Last Man on Earth (2015).^[4] He also appeared as Officer Martinez in Little Miss Sunshine (2006).

Rodriguez decided to depart CSI: Vegas after its first season as Medical Examiner Hugo Ramirez.^[5]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Wirey Spindell[3]	Ernesto
2002	Panic Room[6][7]	Officer Morales
	Deuces Wild[7]	Big Dom
	Showtime[8]	Armored Car Driver	Uncredited
2004	The Terminal	Man in Cast
	Garfield: The Movie[7]	Security Officer
2005	The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada[6][7]	Captain Gómez
2006	Shark Bait[3][6]	Dr. Tang/Manny	Voice role
	Big Top[3][6]	Harris
	Unknown[9]	Lone Cop
	Little Miss Sunshine[6][7]	Officer Martinez
2008	Lakeview Terrace[9]	Julio Pacheco
	Choke.Kick.Girl	Mel	Short film
2009	West of Brooklyn[10]	Sal
2012	The Watch[6][7]	Chucho
	The Producer		Short film
2013	Fat[11]	Ken
	Playing Clean	Mel	Short film
2014	Suburban Gothic[12]	Hector
2016	Brave New Jersey	Sheriff Dandy
2017	Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie	Morty Fyde	Voice role; cameo
2018	Overboard	Bobby
2020	The Last Thing He Wanted	Barry Sedlow
	Onward	Colt Bronco	Voice role
	We Bare Bears: The Movie	Darrell
2025	Sarah's Oil	Mace	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Law & Order[2]	Bill Crawford	Episode: "Disciple"
	Third Watch[2]	T-shirt Man	Episode: "Welcome to Camelot"
	Spin City[2]
2002–2007	George Lopez[6]	Frank	5 episodes
2002	Malcolm in the Middle	Neil	Episode: "Reese Drives"
	Gilmore Girls	Raul	Episode: "Lorelai's Graduation Day"
	Fidel	Calixto Morales	Television film
	Andy Richter Controls the Universe	Mel	Episode: "Relationship Ripcord"
2004	CSI: NY	Al McGrath	Episode: "A Man a Mile"
	In the Game	Jason	Show cancelled after pilot
	Beverly Hills S.U.V.		Show cancelled after pilot
	NYPD Blue	Norman Reese	Episode: "Chatty Chatty Bang Bang"
	The Bernie Mac Show		Episode: "My Privacy"
	Ghost Whisperer	Owen	Episode: "Ghost, Interrupted"
2007	Without a Trace	Mel Heinz	Episode: "One Wrong Move"
	Notes from the Underbelly		Episode: "Oleander"
2008	Kath & Kim	Warren	Episode: "Money"
	Raising the Bar		Episode: "Bagels and Locks"
2008–2009	Tyler Perry's House of Payne	Carlos Hernandez	3 episodes
2009	FlashForward	Oscar Obregon	2 episodes
	The Middle	Mr. Perez	Episode: "The Trip"
2010	Big Love	Don Dona	2 episodes
2010–2011	Running Wilde[6][7]	Migo Salazar	13 episodes
2010–2012	Choke.Kick.Girl	Just Mel	Web series
2011	Workaholics	Ryan	Episode: "Checkpoint Gnarly"
	Community[6]	Sgt. Núñez	3 episodes
2012	Hot in Cleveland	Hector	Episode: "What's Behind the Door"
2013	The New Normal[6]	Gerald	Episode: "Rocky Bye Baby"
2013–2015	Getting On[2][7]	Patsy De La Serda	17 episodes
2014	Enlisted[4]	SPC George Chubowski	8 episodes
2015 & 2017	Better Call Saul[2]	Marco Pasternak	3 episodes
2015–2018	The Last Man on Earth[2][7]	Todd Rodriguez	Series regular; 43 episodes
2016–2018	We Bare Bears	Darrell	Voice; 3 episodes
2018	Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams	Philbert Noyce	Episode: "Kill All Others"
	Grace and Frankie	Officer Terry Velez	Episode: "The Lodger"
	Animals.	Lieutenant	5 episodes
2019	On Becoming a God in Central Florida	Ernie	10 episodes
2020	Briarpatch	Mayor Tony Salazar
2021	Made for Love	Ignacio
2021–2022	CSI: Vegas	Hugo Ramirez	Main cast
2022	The Afterparty	Captain Ostrander	Episode: "Maggie"
2023	Carol & The End of the World	Luis Felipe Jacinto	5 episodes, Voice role

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist	Notes
2014	"Greens and Blues"[13]	Pixies

References

1. CBS Fall 2021-22 Schedule: ‘NCIS’, ‘Bull’ & ‘S.W.A.T.’ On the Move, ‘FBI’ Tuesday, Reality Expansion
2. Rushfield, Ricihard (April 25, 2015). "'Last Man's Mel Rodríguez's Career Boomerang is the Most Heartwarming Showbiz Story of the Year". HitFix. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
3. "Mel Rodríguez Biography". TV Guide. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
4. Phelan, Paige (April 26, 2015). "'Last Man on Earth': Mel Rodriguez on New Phil "Stress" and Season 2". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
5. Cordero, Rosy (January 27, 2022). "Mel Rodriguez Departs 'CSI: Vegas' Following Jorja Fox And William Petersen". Deadline. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
6. "Getting On Cast & Crew: Mel Rodriguez: Bio". HBO. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
7. "Mel Rodríguez Filmography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2015. Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
8. "Mel Rodríguez on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
9. "Mel Rodriguez - Filme" (in German). Moviepilot.de. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
10. "West of Brooklyn - Mel Rodriguez". WestofBrooklynthemovie.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
11. "Mark Phinney & Mel Rodriguez Interview - Fat". Tribute.ca. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
12. Harvey, Dennis (January 27, 2015). "Film Review: 'Suburban Gothic'". Variety. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
13. Grow, Kory (March 4, 2014). "Pixies' New Video Connects Graffiti Artists With Astronauts". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 19, 2015.

External links

• Mel Rodriguez at IMDb