VINCENT RODRIGUEZ III

I definitely have had my down times and also have had my times of being very, very unemployed.

I knew in my heart I wanted to do musical theater professionally. I just didn't know how to go about it or how to communicate that to my parents.

I booked my first national tour of a Broadway show right out of college. It was the tap show, '42nd Street.' I had only been tap dancing for three years when I booked that show.

Each of us has our own crazy on the show. The show's called 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,' but we're going to explore the craziness of everyone on the show... That's one of the attributes of the show I love so much.

For me, acting is not a hobby. It is a career that I have chosen and was not willing to let go of so easily after seven years of hard work.

Both my parents were born in the Philippines. My dad is full Filipino, but my mom looks a little mixed, and her mom's name is Estelita Coquico.

I think the best thing you can do for an audition is to just do your work, be creative. It's OK to be spontaneous.

Rejection doesn't always mean I'm not good enough.

I felt like I wasn't considered for minority or Caucasian male lead roles. There aren't really a lot of roles written for me, and I mean me and who I am in real life.

There is no doubt that diversity is a problem in show business and that this fight has been going on for a long time.

I didn't even drink until I was in college. While other people were out partying, I'd be home watching the Tony Awards and Bob Fosse movies... I so badly wanted to be part of the club.

After a performance, I met the man who would later be my acting coach who helped me get into my acting conservatory. It was apparent to me that there were many others who were in support of me becoming an actor and making a name for myself. I am forever grateful to those teachers and mentors who instead of saying, 'Why you?' said, 'Why not you?'

I wanted a Broadway credit, but 'Crazy Ex' came along, and it blessed me.

It's so easy to make an Asian person the doctor, the lawyer, the smart kid in school. What's harder is challenging the norm and hiring Asian actors to play your Average Joe.

New York reminds me of what my career was like when I lived here, so when I walk through the streets, I remember when I had ten bucks in my pocket and all I could eat is Chipotle.

We need to encourage the presence of more Asian writers and executive producers so they can fight for normalizing the casting of Asians in traditional American roles.

Times are changing, and it's catching on that the roles on TV and film need to reflect its diverse viewers.

Upon graduating from my acting program at The Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts in Santa Maria, CA, I went to my first tap audition. It was for the 1st national equity tour of '42nd Street.'

Many times, you have to sacrifice the paycheck for doing what you love.

Filipino food is not common when compared to your local Chinese food options.

Between acting jobs, I'd go visit my hometown and college town to see family and friends. But I would also teach acting, dance, singing, and audition techniques in high schools and colleges. I take great pride in all the survival jobs I worked, because I learned so much from them.

I don't believe in rituals that produce luck. I believe that a good preparation can raise my chances for a callback. With that, I know what I need to do, so I go in there and do my best.

I remember, after getting my very first CD player for a birthday, I immediately purchased the soundtrack to the movie 'Grease.'

I was crazy into performing when I was younger. I was obsessed with the craft of acting, and theatre, and stage. You know the term 'theatre geek?' I am the extreme theatre geek.

I was raised in a dominantly Filipino family. I didn't know I was 'mixed' until I got older and started asking questions about my grandparents, the origins of our middle and last names. We were kind of textbook Pinoys. A lot of the Filipino stereotypes that were joked about by me and my friends rang very true with my family.