Born April 2, 1975 in Yonkers, NY, Rodriguez grew up in the Rockland County city of New City, NY to parents Ramon and Janet Rodriguez. An avid sports fan with aspirations of pursuing a professional career in baseball, Rodriguez suffered a spinal injury during high school, causing him to re-evaluate his career path. Pursuing other interests while attending SUNY Rockland Community College in Suffern, NY, Rodriguez took up acting and landed a role in a production at the Jersey Papermill Playhouse. Unsure whether to pursue acting as a full-time career, Rodriguez accepted a job as a stockbroker in order to pay the bills. During preparation for his licensing exam however, he had a change of heart and decided to give acting a shot. Rodriguez got his start on the stage in New York performing in children’s theater. In a fortuitous turn of events, Rodriguez’ father contacted an old military friend-turned-“NYPD Blue” (ABC, 1993-2005) producer, after recognizing him on the 1996 Emmy Awards telecast. The connection earned Rodriguez the break he needed; he quickly landed a small, one-line role on the popular Steven Bochco police drama.
Garnering attention from his first role, Rodriguez soon landed a regular role on another Bochco series; he portrayed Officer Hector Villanueva on the short-lived cop drama, “Brooklyn South” (CBS, 1997-98). Though the series showed promise, it was not renewed after its first season. Pounding the pavement like any struggling actor, Rodriguez next guest appeared in an episode of “Law & Order” (NBC, 1990- ) before landed a recurring role on the popular WB series “Felicity” (1998-2002). He went on to make his feature film debut in a small role in the sci-fi thriller “Imposter” (2001) starring Gary Sinise. Landing two guest-starring roles in 2001, Rodriguez’ career began to take off; he appeared in the gritty Showtime drama “Resurrection Blvd.” (2000-02) and on the sci-fi series “Roswell” (WB, 1999-2002), as the young, Harvard-educated attorney Jesse Esteban Ramirez.
With a list of notable recurring roles on his resume, Rodriguez landed his big break in the spin-off series “CSI: Miami” (CBS, 2002- ) in 2002. Joining the cast as a regular alongside David Caruso, Rodriguez portrayed crime scene investigator Eric Delko, a Cuban-Russian police officer who specialized in underwater recovery. After being introduced to viewers though a backdoor pilot in the “CSI” (CBS, 2000- ) episode “Cross-Jurisdictions,” “Miami” went on to become one of the top-rated TV shows as well as number one in its Monday night time-slot. With this high profile series, Rodriguez quickly became a household name.
Though the series shot for nearly 10 months each season, Rodriguez found time to act in other projects. He guest-starred in an episode of the acclaimed HBO series “Six Feet Under” (2001-05) and appeared in the TV movie “Category 7: The End of the World” (CBS, 2005), as a US Air Force pilot. In 2006, Rodriguez appeared in the films “Splinter,” with Edward James Olmos, and “Crossing Paths” (2007) with Minnie Driver.