Freddy Rodriguez (born January 17, 1975) is an American actor, known for his starring roles as Federico Diaz on Six Feet Under (2001–2005) and Benny Colon in Bull (2016–2021), as well as his recurring role as Gio on Ugly Betty (2007–2010). He also starred in the Robert Rodriguez (to whom he bears no relation) film Planet Terror (2007). In addition to an Emmy nomination for Six Feet Under, he received two SAG Awards and four Imagen Awards for his work.
Rodriguez attended Lincoln Park High School and left for Hollywood, California shortly after graduation to take a role in his first film.[2][3]
One of his first films was in A Walk in the Clouds in 1994 where he played Pedro Aragon Jr.[2] He also played a Vietnam veteran in Dead Presidents. He went on to play roles such as Ninja in The Pest, an obnoxious jock in Can't Hardly Wait and Carla's brother Marco on Scrubs. As a voice actor, he contributed the voice of Más y Menos on Teen Titans.[4]
Rodriguez portrayed Federico Diaz on the hit HBO series Six Feet Under throughout its five seasons.[5] 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,[6] and a further three SAG nominations (also in the ensemble category).[7]
In 2005, Rodriguez played a vicious inner-city drug dealer named Hector in the movie Havoc, and a jockey in the film Dreamer, co-starring Dakota Fanning. In 2006, appeared as a waiter in the film Poseidon, and played Reggie, a character who only exercised one half of his body, in M. Night Shyamalan's film Lady in the Water, and starred alongside Eva Longoria and Christian Bale in Harsh Times, his first leading role in a major theatrical release.[8]
Rodriguez 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 (2007),[8] and played the role of Gustavo Brambila in the true-life story Bottle Shock (2008).[9] 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 starred in the popular video game Saints Row as the voice of Angelo Lopez and in the latest Merry Mixit Gap Christmas commercial videos.[citation needed]
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.[10]
From 2016 to 2021, Rodriguez starred as attorney and former New York City prosecutor Benny Colón in the CBS courtroom drama Bull.[11] In 2023, he starred in the films Days When the Rains Came[12] and V/H/S/85, and in the final season of Wu-Tang: An American Saga.[13]
