What You Didn’t Know about Adam Rodriguez

Meanwhile, Rodriguez, widely known for his role as Eric Delko in “CSI: Miami,” has also been working with a Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s national ad campaign that looks to motivate young Latinos and their parents to strive for a better education.

“My family was very big on education,” said Rodriguez, who revealed he was the black sheep of the family for never going to college and instead pursued acting. “A formal education didn’t seem like something that was going to help me at the time.”

Adam places a huge value on education and that “the only way to advance is through education.”

“I want to make sure that kids have an option (for college),” said Rodriguez about his work with Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF).

Rodriguez, who serves on the HSF’s board of directors, said the group strives to offer Latinos support on all levels, from how to transition into college to financial aid.

“It’s about giving them a support system,” Rodriguez said. “(Latinos) are growing in numbers and we have to couple that with education. Education is key.”

Rodriguez said he hopes that one day the country won’t need a designated month in the year to celebrate the contributions by Latinos to the United States. But in the meantime, it’s something inspirational to see.

“It’s an inspiration for us,” he said. “We don’t get to see each other a lot in mainstream so this month raises awareness and celebrates what we have accomplished.”

Adam Rodriguez did not plan to have a career as an actor, from a young age he took an interest in baseball and had dreams of going pro before a an injury ended those dreams.

He was a good student but said he had “no interest” in going to college and actually looked into joining the military as an Air-Force pilot but was denied because of his poor vision. He had several odd jobs before becoming a popular actor including as a construction worker, pizza deliveryman, bellman, janitor, stock broker and he was also a  DJ for a period of time.

Adam is grateful to his father, Ramon Rodriguez, for enabling him to get his break actor. His father had always liked acting and even took acting classes to perfect his skills. One day his father watched the 1996 Emmy Awards, he recognized a friend receiving an award and called to congratulate him.

The friend turned out to be the producer for “NYPD Blue,” and since Ramon kept in touch with him, in 1997, Adam got to play a cop in one episode of the series, this was the opportunity that got Adam noticed and eventually his roles and visibility increased.

Fun Facts

• Aspired to become a professional baseball player but was forced to forgo that dream because of a back injury.
• Worked as a bellman and a construction worker while attending community college.
• Appeared in a number of music videos, including Jennifer Lopez’s “If You Had My Love” (1999); Lionel Richie’s “I Call It Love” (2006); 50 Cent’s “Many Men” (2009); and Busta Rhymes’ “Respect My Conglomerate”(2009).
• Had never watched the original CSI until he auditioned for the CSI: Miami spin-off.
• Part owner of L.A.’s Dolce Enoteca e Ristorante, along with Ashton Kutcher, Christopher Masterson and Wilmer Valderrama.

 

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We all have choices that we are empowered to make on a daily basis, and while those choices can be limited by affordability and accessibility, we still have the opportunity to make our best choice. That best choice usually requires more effort and more thought, but, undeniably, the results are worth it.
-Adam Rodriguez