Freddy Rodriguez (born January 17, 1975) is an American actor and voice actor. He had starring roles as Federico Diaz on Six Feet Under (2001–2005) and Benny Colon in Bull (2016–2021), as well as a recurring role as Gio on Ugly Betty (2007–2010). He voiced Angelo Lopez in the video game Saints Row and starred in the Robert Rodriguez 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.
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Early life and education
Rodriguez attended Lincoln Park High School in Chicago and left for Hollywood shortly after graduation to take a role in his first film.
Career
Film
One of Rodriguez' first films was in 1994 in A Walk in the Clouds, where he played Pedro "Peter" Aragon, Jr. During the 1990s, he also played a Vietnam veteran in Dead Presidents, and had roles as Ninja in The Pest, and as an obnoxious jock in Can't Hardly Wait.
In 2003, Rodriguez portrayed Victor, alongside Roselyn Sanchez in Chasing Papi (directed by Linda Mendoza). In 2005, he starred with Eva Longoria and Christian Bale in Harsh Times, his first leading role in a major theatrical release. In 2005, he also played a vicious inner-city drug dealer named Hector in Havoc, and a jockey in Dreamer, co-starring Dakota Fanning.
In 2006, Rodriguez appeared in M. Night Shyamalan's film Lady in the Water, portraying Reggie, a character who only exercised one half of his body. That same year, he also played a waiter in Poseidon, and busboy José Rojas in Bobby.
He starred as El Wray in Planet Terror, Robert Rodriguez's portion of the double-feature film Grindhouse (2007), and played the role of Gustavo Brambila in the true-life story Bottle Shock (2008).
Rodriguez starred in V/H/S/85 (2023), and in Blue Eyed Girl (initially titled Days When the Rains Came), a comedic drama that was released on November 21, 2025.
Television
Between 2001 and 2005, Rodriguez portrayed Federico Diaz on the hit HBO series Six Feet Under. 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, and a further three SAG nominations (also in the ensemble category). In 2003, he made guest appearances as Carla's brother Marco Espinosa on Season 3 of Scrubs.
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.
From 2016 to 2021, Rodriguez starred as attorney and former New York City prosecutor Benny Colón in the CBS courtroom drama Bull.
In 2023, he appeared in the final season of Hulu's Wu-Tang: An American Saga.
Other Work
As a voice actor since the year 2000, Rodriguez has voiced dozens of characters for television, movies and games. Among the most recognizable are the twin superheros Más y Menos (More and Less), who debuted in 2005 on Teen Titans. In 2006, he was the voice of Angelo Lopez in the popular video game Saints Row.
In 2007, Rodriguez featured prominently in the music video for the Santana song "Into the Night", and made a cameo appearance as a pilot/flight attendant in the music video for the song "Glamorous" by Fergie.
In 2008, alongside other celebrities, he was part of The Gap's holiday digital-advertising campaign, "Merry Mix It".
