James Roday Rodriguez
James Roday Rodriguez[1] (born James David Rodriguez, April 4, 1976) is an American actor, director and screenwriter. He is best known for starring on the USA Network series Psych as hyper-observant consultant detective and fake psychic Shawn Spencer. He currently stars in A Million Little Things, which debuted in 2018.[2]
James Roday Rodriguez | |
|---|---|
Rodriguez at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2013 | |
| Born | James David Rodriguez April 4, 1976 San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Other names | James Roday (professional name prior to 2020) |
| Alma mater | New York University (BFA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Partner | Maggie Lawson (2006–2014) |
Early life
Rodriguez was born in San Antonio, Texas, as James David Rodriguez.[1] He attended Taft High School in San Antonio.[3] His father, Jaime "Jim" Rodriguez, is of Mexican descent, and his mother, Deborah Collins, is of English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry. Rodriguez's father is a retired Air Force Master Sergeant and used to be the regional catering manager of Taco Cabana.[4][5]
At New York University's Experimental Theatre Wing, Rodriguez studied theatre and earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts.[6] At the age of 22, he selected the professional name James Roday. In a July 2020 interview, Rodriguez explained the decision was mainly driven by producers and casting directors feeling his Caucasian appearance clashed with his Spanish-Latino family name. The characters he read for up until that point either were not written with a Latino background or required a non-white "Mexican" appearance. In order to book his first job, he legally changed his middle name, David, to Roday (from an Anton Chekhov play), and omitted Rodriguez from his screen name. In the same interview, he stated regret that he "sold out my heritage in about 15 seconds" and announced that going forward he was going to use his full legal name of James Roday Rodriguez.[7]
Career
Rodriguez started his acting career starring in various theatrical productions, including Three Sisters, A Respectable Wedding and Severity's Mistress. He took on leading roles in Sexual Perversity in Chicago and Extinction which he produced with his theatre company Red Dog Squadron, for which he also directed the play Greedy and wrote and directed the one-act play Sustenance. His most recent foray onto the stage was in December 2016, when he starred in the New York production of White Rabbit Red Rabbit by Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour.[8]
His big screen debut was in the 1999 film Coming Soon alongside Ryan Reynolds and fellow debutant Ashton Kutcher. Other early film credits include the 2003 film Rolling Kansas and the 2005 film adaptation of The Dukes Of Hazzard. Behind the scenes, he and writing partners Todd Harthan and James DeMonaco wrote the screenplay for the 2006 film Skinwalkers. The team also worked on a script for the film adaptation of the video game Driver.
Rodriguez's television credits include starring roles in 2001's First Years and NBC's Miss Match in 2003. His big break came on July 7, 2006, with the series premiere of USA Network's original series Psych. Airing following the season premiere of USA's other comedic success, Monk, it was the highest-rated scripted basic cable TV show premiere of 2006.[9] Psych ran for eight seasons until 2014.
After Psych ended, Rodriguez starred in various pilots and independent films, most notably Pushing Dead by independent filmmaker Tom E. Brown which accumulated a slew of awards at film festivals all over the country. At the same time, he began focusing on his work behind the camera as a director, writer and producer. Rodriguez has since directed episodes for Battle Creek, Rush Hour, Rosewood, Blood Drive and The Resident and developed, wrote, and directed the pilots Shoot The Moon for USA and Quest For Truth for E!.
Rodriguez directed his first feature film, Gravy, in 2013, written by him and Todd Harthan. He co-wrote (once again with Todd Harthan) and directed his second film Treehouse as part of Hulu's monthly horror movie anthology Into The Dark, which aired in March 2019.
In 2017, Rodriguez returned to his most famous role as he starred in and served as executive producer on Psych: The Movie, which he also co-wrote with Psych's series creator Steve Franks, aired in December 2017. A sequel, Psych 2: Lassie Come Home was officially announced on February 14, 2019. It was filmed in Vancouver in March and April of that year and debuted July 15, 2020 on NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock.[10][11] Lassie Come Home was the first project that featured his full legal name, James Roday Rodriguez.
Rodriguez is currently starring as Gary Mendez on ABC's dramedy A Million Little Things. The fourth season premiered on September 22, 2021.
Rodriguez reprised his role as Shawn Spencer once again in Psych 3: This Is Gus, which was filmed in June 2021. He is also the co-writer and co-executive producer. It was released on Peacock on November 18, 2021.
Rodriguez will also be lending his voice in the upcoming animated feature Night of the Animated Dead, an adaptation of George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead.
Personal life
Rodriguez is the co-artistic director of the Red Dog Squadron, a Los Angeles theater company he co-founded with Brad Raider.[12][13] In 2012, Rodriguez and Black Dahlia artistic director Matt Shakman bought the El Centro Theatre and started a long process of renovations with the intent of reopening it under its original name Circle Theatre. In a newsletter from August 2018, Raider and Rodriguez announced that they had to resell the theatre in early 2018.[14]
Rodriguez dated his Psych co-star Maggie Lawson from 2006 to 2014, coinciding with the series run.[15][16]
Filmography
Actor
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Coming Soon | Chad | |
| Ryan Caulfield: Year One | Vic | Series regular | |
| 2000 | Believe | Bruce Arm / Agent Johnny | Short |
| Get Real | Trent Sykes | ||
| 2001 | First Years | Edgar | Series regular |
| 2002 | Repli-Kate | Max | Lead |
| Providence | Alexander Conrad | ||
| Showtime | 'Maxis' Cameraman | ||
| Rolling Kansas | Dick Murphy | ||
| 2003 | Miss Match | Nick Paine | Series regular |
| 2005 | Don't Come Knocking | Mickey, First Assistant Director | |
| The Dukes of Hazzard | Billy Prickett | ||
| 2006 | Beerfest | German Messenger | |
| 2006–14 | Psych | Shawn Spencer | Also writer, director, and producer 2009–2014 |
| 2008 | Fear Itself | Carlos | Episode: "In Sickness and in Health" |
| 2009 | Gamer | News Co-Host #1 | |
| 2011 | WWE Tough Enough | Himself | Episode: "I've Been Bamboozled & Flabbergasted" |
| Love Bites | Jeff | Episode: "TMI" | |
| 2012 | WWE Raw Super Show | Himself | Special guest ring announcer |
| 2013 | Mr. Payback | Malikai | Short |
| 2015 | Gravy | Marty | Also director and co-writer |
| Good Session | Joel | Pilot, lead | |
| Christmas Eve | B | a.k.a. Stuck | |
| Baby Baby Baby | J.B. | ||
| The Nerd Herd | Kip Mitchell | Pilot, lead | |
| 2016 | Pushing Dead | Dan Schauble | Lead |
| 2017 | Psych: The Movie | Shawn Spencer | TV film, also co-writer and executive producer |
| 2018–present | A Million Little Things | Gary Mendez | Series regular |
| 2018 | Fortune Rookie[17] | Roday | Recurring |
| 2019 | Buddy Games | Zane | |
| Berserk | Officer Duane | ||
| 2020 | Psych 2: Lassie Come Home | Shawn Spencer | TV film, also co-writer and executive producer |
| 2021 | Psych 3: This Is Gus |
Director
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2009–14 | Psych | 8 episodes, also lead actor and occasional writer |
| 2014 | Shoot the Moon[18] | Pilot, writer |
| 2015 | Gravy | Also actor and co-writer |
| Battle Creek | Episode: "Homecoming" | |
| Quest for Truth | Pilot, also co-writer | |
| 2015–16 | Rosewood | 5 episodes |
| 2016 | Rush Hour | Episode: "Knock, Knock... House Creeping!" |
| 2017 | Blood Drive | 2 episodes |
| 2018–2019 | The Resident | 4 episodes |
| 2019 | Treehouse | Also co-writer |
Writer
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Driver | Unused first draft |
| 2006 | Skinwalkers | Co-written with James DeMonaco and Todd Harthan |
| 2006–14 | Psych | 16 episodes, also lead actor and occasional director |
| 2014 | Shoot the Moon[18] | Pilot, also director |
| 2015 | Quest for Truth | Pilot, also director |
| Gravy | Also actor and director | |
| 2017 | Psych: The Movie | Also lead actor and executive producer |
| 2019 | Treehouse | Also director |
| 2020 | Psych 2: Lassie Come Home | Also lead actor and executive producer |
| 2021 | Psych 3: This Is Gus | Also lead actor and executive producer |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | |||||
| Satellite Awards | Best Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical | Psych | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | NCLR ALMA Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Drama Television Series | Nominated | [19] | |
| Online Film & Television Association | Best Actor in a Comedy Series | Nominated | |||
| 2009 | EWwy Award | Best Actor in a Comedy Series | Nominated | [20] | |
| NCLR ALMA Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series | Nominated | |||
| Imagen Awards | Best Actor – Television | Nominated | [21] | ||
| Online Film & Television Association | Best Actor in a Comedy Series | Nominated | |||
| 2010 | |||||
| NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series | Psych (for episode "High Top Fade Out", shared with Saladin K. Patterson) | Nominated | [22] | |
| 2011 | NCLR ALMA Awards | Favorite TV Actor – Leading Role | Psych | Nominated | |
| Imagen Awards | Best Actor – Television | Nominated | [21] | ||
| 1st Annual Timmys Awards | Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | |||
| StageSceneLA's “Best Of 2010–2011 Scenies” | Outstanding Direction of a Comedy-Drama | greedy | Won | [23] | |
| 2012 | NCLR ALMA Awards | Favorite TV Actor – Leading Role | Psych | Nominated | |
| 2nd Annual Timmys Awards | Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Won | |||
| Imagen Awards | Best Actor – Television | Won | [24] | ||
| 2016 | POZ Awards | Best Actor or Actress in Film or Television | Pushing Dead | Nominated | [25] |
| 2017 | FilmOut Festival Award | Best Actor | Won | [26] |
References
- ^ a b Lee Hernandez (October 12, 2011). "EXCLUSIVE: 'Psych' Star James Roday Explains Why He Changed His Latino Last Name for Hollywood". Latina. from the original on April 18, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 2019-01-09. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
- ^ Martinez, Kiko. . Hispanic Magazine. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
- ^ Hernandez, Lee. "EXCLUSIVE: 'Psych' Star James Roday Explains Why He Changed His Latino Last Name for Hollywood". Latina. from the original on 2013-03-07. Retrieved 2013-01-17.
- ^ "'Psych' star James Roday on life, family in Waxahachie". Waxahachietx.com. 2012-02-29. from the original on 2016-01-17. Retrieved 2013-01-17.
- ^ Roberts, Robin (August 9, 2007). "Psych's Two Sleuths Reveal Their Poker Faces" 2011-08-09 at the Wayback Machine. TV Guide.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (July 14, 2020). "James Roday Details 'Deeply Personal' Decision to Reclaim Birth Name Rodriguez: 'I Want to Be the Most Honest Ally for My Community'". TVLine. from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
- ^ "Psych Tony Nominee Micah Stock and PSYCH's James Roday Headed to WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT". October 24, 2016. from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
- ^ "Psych premiere sets basic cable mark". TV.com. Reuters. July 11, 2006.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "Psych: The Movie 2 Is Coming to USA Network Later This Year! - Blog". USA Network. 14 February 2019. from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ "Red Dog Squadron: About". Red Dog Squadron. from the original on 2019-04-14. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
- ^ Lufkin, Bryan (July 7, 2010). "James Roday, Steve Franks Promise "Twin Peaks" Episode of Psych". Starpulse.com. from the original on July 11, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
- ^ "Roday, Raider, & Red Dog's Return". Myemail.constantcontact.com. from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ David, Mark (17 January 2014). "Maggie Lawson Lists Eco-Friendly Los Feliz Home". Variety.com. from the original on 6 January 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ Graff, Michael (22 June 2018). "10 Iconic Sitcom Stars Who Got Together (And 10 Who Are Just Friends)". Screen Rant. from the original on 2019-02-03. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
- ^ "About the Rookie". Fortunerookie.net. from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ a b "James Roday Signs with ICM Partners". Deadline Hollywood. 29 October 2014. from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
- ^ Dare, Johnny (June 25, 2009). "Interview: James Roday". freejohnnydare.com. from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
- ^ . Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
- ^ a b Foundation, Imagen. "Imagen Awards". from the original on 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
- ^ . 25 July 2010. Archived from the original on 25 July 2010.
- ^ "2010-2011 StageSceneLA Scenies". 12 September 2011. from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ "Awards list". www.imagen.org. 2012. from the original on 2019-05-31. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
- ^ "POZ Awards 2016 / Best Actor or Actress in Film or Television". POZ. 9 October 2016. from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "Awards list". gay-sd.com. 2017. from the original on 2019-05-31. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
External links
- James Roday Rodriguez at IMDb
- USA Network biography of James Roday Rodriguez
- ABC Network biography of James Roday Rodriguez