Philip Anthony Rodriguez: Cherishing Each & Every Day (Recorded May 2022)

What if the real win isn’t the credit list, but the way you show up when no one’s clapping?

In this conversation, I sit with actor Philip Anthony Rodriguez to unpack a four-decade career spanning Broadway stages, prime-time television, and voice work—including a Star Wars Inquisitor—and then zoom in on the human core that powers it all.

Philip reframes performance as service: a collaborative act that allows audiences to feel, think, and reset. He shares how the pandemic reshaped his process—self-tapes at home, resourcefulness as a daily skill, and gratitude as a grounding practice—and why choosing response over reaction changed everything. The old reflex to bristle at last-minute auditions gave way to a steadier standard: prepare well, conserve energy, and be the professional who delivers. That mindset, he notes, applies far beyond show business—from startups to classrooms.

We wander through early breaks, a transformative European tour of West Side Story, and the deliberate expansion of his toolkit—on-camera nuance, action training, voice work—to keep opportunity wide. The heart of the conversation lives closer to home: a father reflecting on his own dad’s tough love, laughing with his son in a grocery line, and realizing that small, unseen moments are the legacy that lasts.

We talk presence, confidence without ego, and the courage to let friends call you out when you’re stuck. Along the way, we explore why arts education isn’t optional if we want healthy communities—and how humor, kindness, and curiosity help us stay resilient.

As STOPTIME: Live in the Moment approaches five years of conversations (almost six!), I’m revisiting and re-sharing a few favorite episodes—conversations that continue to resonate and meet us exactly where we are. This one felt especially worth returning to.Thank you for listening—and for being part of this journey.— Lisa 💜

If the conversation resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review—your words help others find us. 

If you are enjoying the show please subscribe, share and review! Word of mouth is incredibly impactful and your support is much appreciated!

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome, Support, And Show Intro
• 1:13 Lisa Introduces Philip Anthony Rodriguez
• 4:03 Why Performance Matters Beyond Escape
• 6:43 Teamwork And The Family Of Showbiz
• 6:43 Daily Rhythm, Parenting, And Self-Tapes
• 11:03 From Reacting To Choosing Response
• 14:43 Perspective Shift And Honest Feedback
• 17:43 Fatherhood, Loss, And Learning From Dad
• 21:43 Family Roots And Early Support
• 24:23 Leaving School, Touring, And Breakthroughs
• 28:23 Pandemic Lessons And Self-Reliance
• 31:43 Gratitude, Community, And Humanity
• 34:03 Defining Living In The Present
• 35:23 Being Seen As A Dad
• 38:23 Identity, Acceptance, And Authenticity
• 40:43 Agency: Becoming Who You Want To Be
• 42:03 Building A Diverse Career Toolkit
• 45:43 If Not Arts, Then Hospitality
• 48:43 Why Arts Education Must Stay
• 50:43 Legacy: Kindness, Generosity, Humor
• 53:43 Parenting While Public
• 55:43 Perception, Projection, And Confidence

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:23

Hey there. If you're enjoying this podcast, please take a moment to leave a review and to follow or subscribe. Don't forget to share with anybody that you think might be interested. Your support is greatly appreciated. Word of mouth is incredibly powerful, and it's the best way for us to reach more people and grow this wonderful community. Thanks again for listening. This is the Stop Time Podcast. I'm your host, Lisa Hopkins, and I'm here to engage you in thought-provoking motivational conversations around practicing the art of living in the moment. I'm a certified life coach, and I'm excited to dig deep and offer insights into embracing who we are and where we are at the next guest was voted as one of Latina magazine's 25 most beautiful Latina men. He is an accomplished and versatile performer, host and coach from Brooklyn, New York. He has joined the casts of many hit TV series, including, among others, The Morning Show on Apple TV, produced by Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, NBC's popular grim and sinister royal henchman Marcus Rispoli, CBS's Tommy, the hit CBS All Access Show, Why Women Kill, starring Lucy Liu, Freeforms Hit The Secret Life of American Teenager as Ruben Enriquez, and CBS's SEAL team as CIA operative Greg Smith. Other credits include Modern Family, SWAT, Magnum PI, Shameless, 9-11, Good Trouble, The Mentalist, Madam Secretary, Queen of the South, 24, NCIS, New Orleans. You know what? Just turn on the TV.

SPEAKER_03: 2:10

It's becoming obnoxious.

SPEAKER_00: 2:13

This is cool, though. He's also the voice of Sith. Is it Sith or is that how you pronounce that? Sith Sith Inquisitor, yeah. Okay. He's also the voice of Sith Inquisitor, fifth brother in Disney's popular animated series Star Wars Rebels, for which he's also proud to be an action figure. I mean, come on. Oh, sidebar. Philip made his Broadway debut as Richie Valence in Buddy the Buddy Holly Story, for which we was honored, by the way, uh, by the New York Drama League. He returned to Broadway in Tennessee Williams, Not About Nightingales, directed by Tony Award winner Trevor Nunn. He is the Spanish-speaking and singing voices of Elmo and Telemonstra on Sesame Street Beginnings. And that thrills me. It just, I don't know, just it makes me really happy. It is with my great pleasure to introduce you to Philip Anthony Rodriguez. Phil, thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_03: 3:08

Thank you. It's my pleasure, Lisa. So wonderful to see you after all these years.

SPEAKER_00: 3:13

Yes, indeed. And it's great to know that you are still killing it out there.

SPEAKER_03: 3:17

I'm trying, I'm trying to kill as best as possible.

SPEAKER_00: 3:23

You know, it's you can tell just by by reading the bio, and we were laughing about the bio, right? You like threw it together and whatever. But I uh it's so clear. I mean, I'm guessing you love your work.

SPEAKER_03: 3:33

Uh a little bit. I'm going on now 40, 40 plus years of being in the entertainment industry as a professional. So clearly, if I don't like it by now, I have issues. Or love it, I should say, by now. There are many things that that feed my soul that I have a real passion for that I absolutely love doing and being in show business is is by far one of them.

SPEAKER_00: 3:58

So yeah. What do you think it is that you love about it? What stuff means to one person is, you know, that means means something different to another. What is it for you? And maybe that's changed. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03: 4:09

No, I mean, the the the one constant, and and you know, again, I've my origins, my beginnings were in theater. And I know I probably sound cliche, but it's that rush that you get from being able to connect with an audience and have them and yourself as an actor, performer, just escape for like a couple of hours each night and take the audience away to a different place. And then uh as an actor, performer, feeling that satisfaction uh when they applaud at the end of the show, uh, which is essentially saying, not just great job, thank you for taking me away, but uh helping me think about things in a different way, beyond just entertaining me. Because let's face it, we're we're out there for for escapism, for to entertain people. Uh people have long days and you know, they have stressful days sometimes, and it's like they want to go see a movie to get away from it all. I need to unwind everything is unwind, it's a human necessity. And uh without it, I I think uh I think we're in trouble as a society. You know, it's it's it's part of our therapy and um it serves its purpose, and that's that's it, among other things.

SPEAKER_00: 5:21

Actors provide that platform, that permission for the people that are taking in what they are giving to feel.

SPEAKER_03: 5:29

Yeah. And oftentimes people forget, you know, whether we're talking about theater or dance or opera or or television or film, you know, it's a collaborative effort. There are many people involved with bringing that that entertainment, that satisfaction to the individual, to the audience.

SPEAKER_01: 5:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 5:46

So it's like I may be the actor, I may be the the um the catalyst, the um the tool that's actually out there on the stage or in front of the camera performing. But let's not forget the director, let's not forget the lighting designer, let's not forget the writer, you know, the lyricist, the composer. It's a team effort. It's a team effort. And that's also another aspect of our industry that I love on the whole. That sense of family, of unity, of like, hey, you know, we're all bringing something to the table here. And it's always, hopefully, you hope, something special.

SPEAKER_00: 6:20

Can you can you paint a picture for us of what the rhythm of your days is like at this moment?

SPEAKER_03: 6:25

You know, being an actor and having that be my career, it can be pretty erratic, or it changes from one day or one week to the next. But by and large, uh especially with the fact that, you know, Cindy and I have uh have a four-year-old little boy, it's getting him up in the morning and you know, Monday through Friday, waking him up, making sure that he's all cleaned up, brushing his teeth, going potty and all that stuff, getting his breakfast done, lunch, and off to school. And then I go about my day the way I go about my day. A side effect of the pandemic has been the uptick in at home uh, you know, self-tape auditions because casting offices just aren't seeing people anymore. That's become the status quo. And there's pluses and minuses to that. So there'll be days when I do that. But uh there's nothing, there's nothing even remotely routine about it, if that makes any sense. I don't know. It it it's it's routine, but it's not because every day I wake up, I'm just I'm just happy to be alive first and foremost. And yeah, um, I know it sounds corny, but you know, I'm blessed because I have like a wonderful family, we're all healthy, knock on wood. And uh, and that's another thing that that many of us do or don't take for granted these days, obviously, with the circumstances being they would the way they are with this pandemic.

SPEAKER_00: 7:41

You don't strike me as uh it be needing to be very rigid and organized. And when it's not, you feel like, oh my god, I have to fill it. I'm not hearing that at all. I'm I'm hearing sort of a trust, trust the process. You know, things come in and come out, this is the way it is, and so I'm gonna flow. I mean, it sounds like flow to me.

SPEAKER_03: 7:58

Bullseye, bullseye. Uh it's you know, every day is every day is different. And like I said, I've been doing this, meaning like the the way I approach, and and don't let don't get me wrong. I mean, it hasn't been like all you know rosy for those 40 plus years of being in the entertainment industry. I've been by and large blessed enough to say, okay, I I've made this my career. I haven't really needed to get those side jobs or think about a different career path. Or, you know, um uh I've had those moments. I've had those really dark times and those and the valleys that come alongside the peaks. Um, you know, make no mistake, but by the same token, by and large, I've been lucky and blessed enough to say, all right, you know, this is good. And I, you know, I I socked away enough cash that even though things are pretty tough right now, we can weather the storm. Yeah, every every day is is you know, aspects of it are routine, and then other aspects of it are like, you know, not routine. And sometimes, as you know, sometimes we get thrown curves um where it's just like, oh, well, I wasn't expecting that, or that was very last minute, or okay, I need to do that and you know, adjust accordingly. I used to get bent out of shape with that kind of stuff and get frustrated. And it's like, are you kidding me? They want this due now and what? And it's like, all right, rewind. Let's take it, let's take it a step back. And I've learned to do that. I've learned to not get so heated or upset or bent out of shape when something happens that isn't the normal way of things happening, you know, last minute audition, or you know, hey, uh, this is uh we're auditioning you for a uh a series regular on a major television show. Here's 10 pages of size that you need to learn and it needs to be due by tomorrow. I'm like, what? Yeah, how sweet, how inconsiderate. Don't these casts and directors and people think about that, and then it's just like excuse, excuse, excuse, excuse. And it's like, you know, I mean, damn it, I'm a professional. Um, in spite of the fact that those things would irk me. But again, I've learned to say, hey, you know, if I react that way, there's gonna be somebody else who is auditioning for the same thing who's gonna look at it and say, it is what it is. Just got to do my best. I just gotta do my best. It's not ideal, but I'm gonna do my best because getting all bent out of shape and and flipping out serves nobody. It serves no purpose except to just make you all uh flustered and and frustrated. And that's the last thing you want to do when you want to prepare for something and be your best.

SPEAKER_00: 10:45

Yeah. You know, so oh yeah, 100%. I mean, and that's that's like the heart of the work that I do, which is about where we choose to respond rather than react, how we choose to respond rather than react, and that it's by choice, not by default. And that we understand that all those voices that rush in, you know, give ourselves a little grace because we're hardwired. That's fear. That's going, you're not gonna be ready, you're not gonna be as good as you can. But what it does, what it does is it holds you back, yeah, takes energy away from the fact that you know you're gonna do it anyways. I mean, it's one thing if you're if you're just gonna make the choice to not do it. No, I choose not to do it because I cannot present myself in the way. But if you're gonna do it anyways, then why on earth divide your energy?

SPEAKER_03: 11:33

Sure.

SPEAKER_00: 11:33

You know, when actually you need you need all that support.

SPEAKER_03: 11:36

Yeah. And I think one of the things that I, you know, again, this is this is uh this has a lot to do with with you know, age, experience, and and my maturity factor, if you want to even talk about that. But, you know, when you say something like you can make the choice to not do it, you know, there's one way of approaching it, which is like, well, I I I I don't have the time to prepare it the way I want to, so I'm going to politely decline. What I used to do was a no-no approach to it. It's like, I'm gonna stick it to them, so I'm not gonna do this the hell with them, which is like that's just that's just childish. But I would do that. That would that would be my thought process. I wouldn't say it out loud, but that would be my thought process, like FM. I'm not gonna go about it this way. And yeah, what what purpose does that serve? So we had to learn, just not be in that mindset. And and and honestly, I got it from from all sides to to say, you know, you need to, you need to kind of change your your thinking about this. Um, and even my manager to some extent, you know, who I who I've known for just as many, almost as many years as I've been, you know, a professional actor, um, you know, she pointed that out to me too. She's like, listen, that's the way these things are. So you have to either accept it, roll, you know, ride that wave and roll, roll with the punches, or you can be flustered and and and and uh and upset and irritated by this as much as you want, but see how far it'll get you. And once I flipped that perspective, you know, it was it was a straight shot, everything was going.

SPEAKER_00: 13:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 13:18

Um, so how did you do that? Do you remember what sort of was there a pivotal moment or I had people, I had people call me out on it, you know, just say like like my manager was just like, you know, you're you're you're being an asshole, you're being an idiot, that you know, that or you know, okay, I get it. You're pissed off, you're you're frustrated and and and things like that, but um, but here's a thought. Why don't you go from this perspective? Or I would talk to other friends and express how I felt about the whole thing, and they would say the same thing. They'd be like, so what? So what? So but what they they send to you last minute. What are you gonna do? Not work, you're gonna you're gonna just like not accept things or or bitch about it, and you know, just to satisfy a point that you're trying to make. And then where are you gonna be at after that? You're gonna be jobless and you know, without an opportunity to show what you can do. So it's just it was just good friends, you know, family members calling me out on it. And that's and that's what friends and family are for, the the good ones, the ones that are that that will, you know, be brave and strong enough to say, I'm telling you this because I love you, knock it off, or whatever. You know, it's like an intervention-y type thing.

SPEAKER_00: 14:31

I love that. That but that's an amazing distinction because I was gonna ask you, and you kind of almost clarified it for me just then. And I'm so into distinctions, but the distinction between like the reason why you did it, I understand that you know, somebody could be told, listen, you're being an asshole, you're not gonna work. Um, and then you could go, oh shit, I'm not gonna work, I better change my attitude. That's one thing. But I heard you loud and clear, your your value and connection to the people you love and showing up as a as the human that you want to be with the people that you love, which yes, it does allow you to work, but but if it was only that, if they came to you, if someone, you know, some random person came to you and said, if you're an asshole, you're not gonna work. I I don't think you'd be as it wouldn't be a sustainable uh uh mindset shift.

SPEAKER_03: 15:17

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Um and you know, I mean, like I said, as as as old as I am right now, it's um you know, we all do, at least if we accept the fact that we're always learning and changing and trying to adapt and adjust and improve till the day we leave this earth. Yeah, that's another perspective that I have. Um, I I don't I don't claim or um uh put myself out to be a know it all because of my age and my experience and my maturity. Yeah. Um, like I said, you know, you know, Cindy and I have a beautiful four-year-old, healthy little boy, and there's so many things that that little boy teaches me, teaches us about like myself, about life. And, you know, um I try to be a good dad. You know, I know this sounds corny too, but I know I'm not all there. I'm not perfect. Uh, I make mistakes, but you know, I want to learn from those mistakes so that I can be the best dad for him possible. And uh, and I had a great dad. I had a fantastic dad who, you know, who uh he had a great life, you know, cancer took him away almost, well, it's like 2022. So we're talking like uh seven years ago, but he lived a good life till he was 80, and he probably could have lived a lot a lot longer, were were it not for stage four brain cancer. And he fought, he fought really hard. But I love that guy because I I learned so much from him and he was tough on me. And he called me on my shit when I was a spoiled, know-it-all teenager with a real attitude, and he would call me on it. And I and in hindsight, I respect him for that because I so was glad that he did that with me. Um, because it it's it's it straightened me out, it straightened me out. Um, and uh, you know, I I I just try to emulate him as much as I can, all those positive things, you know. I I cherry pick. There's some things that I don't do that my dad did. Um, we knew he loved us, so we knew in our own heads, even when we were young kids, that he loved us, you know, and he would say it in a card, he wouldn't be comfortable in like necessarily saying it out loud. But you know, that's the one thing that I I sort of like different from uh my dad, you know. I say, Hey, Zane, I love you, daddy loves you very much. You know, say things like that. I love you too, dad. And it just makes my day that just everything, all the negative yucky, I had a shitty day or whatever. And he says that, I'm done. It's like that's all I need. So uh yeah, it's a challenge, it's a it's a real challenge. And um, sometimes I'm just like, oh man, am I doing this right? Am I, you know, I just get worried, and sometimes I get a little bit helicopter-y, you know, helicopter parent. Um, am I doing too much? Am I being too safe with him? Am I am I being too lax? And it's like, oh man, it's the ultimate like mind F, you know?

SPEAKER_00: 18:18

Yep, I do know.

SPEAKER_03: 18:20

Right. Yeah. Because we're both parents, and uh for sure. Crazy.

SPEAKER_00: 18:26

So it's it's so interesting. I'm I'm just uh curious for a minute to uh to see what that family makeup was with your wonderful dad and your siblings. How many siblings?

SPEAKER_03: 18:36

I'm the youngest of five kids. I have three older brothers, and then my sister is the oldest out of all of us. Okay, there's about a 10-year difference. They're not about there's a 10-year difference between my oldest sister and me, and I'm the youngest, like I said.

SPEAKER_00: 18:48

Okay, and were you the only one that pursued the arts of all of you?

SPEAKER_03: 18:51

Or yes, that really, really pursued it. My uh one of my uh older brothers, my brother Andy, he's you know, the crazy thing about it is that he's the most artistically gifted out of all of us. He's a self-taught musician, he's an excellent artist, like he can paint and sketch and do all these types of things. He's very creative, he's got major, major right-brained things going on. Way, way, way more blessed and and and and artistically talented than I am. Uh, but I was the only one in the family who, you know, went that route, who was the rebel, for lack of a better word. Um, but I got support, you know, I got I really got support from from both my parents. They were never like, oh no, that's that's crazy. You shouldn't do that, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Um, they were very supportive, albeit a little bit apprehensive and and concerned, as would any parent be, you know, so they just want to make sure that I'm okay, that I have a way to make a living and that I'm not struggling financially and all that stuff. So um, but you know, there was a little bit of like my father living vicariously through me because he wanted to be an actor, performer, and all that stuff, and he couldn't do it because he had five mouths to feed, and he made a conscious decision to say, no, this is more important, can't do it anymore. So, any of my successes, he absolutely adored it. Absolutely like, and that just made me even more happy. The fact that he was able to appreciate um what I was doing, uh, my successes, as well as my failures in in showbiz in general. And um, you know, thank God. I mean, he was able to see a lot of like my major, major peak moments, my my successes before he did pass away. He got to see me on Broadway, he got to see me on TV numerous times. And he would always ask, you know, how did that audition go? Oh, you didn't get it? Ah, that's okay. Those idiots don't know what they're thinking. That's their laws. And he would have that mentality. It's like, what? You'd have been perfect for that. And then, you know, if I booked it, he'd be like, Yeah, I knew it. I knew you were gonna get it, and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_00: 20:53

That's brilliant. How old were you when you left uh New York? Because you were you were there for a bit on Broadway and then didn't know. Very good.

SPEAKER_03: 21:00

So when I went, I went away to college, I went to SUNY Purchase and I was in there for like my first two years, and then I dropped out in my sophomore year, you know, basically after my spring semester sophomore year. So I did a full sophomore year before I decided to hit the road, hit the pavement, you know, hit the ground running. And a lot of that was just like uh, you know, me having the feeling that what I was doing there wasn't really right for me. I wanted to, I wanted to really hit the pavement. I was already a professional actor at that time, you know, working, not not doing big gigs and stuff like that, but I was a working actor. So I made that decision that I was just like, I just want to delve into this, you know, full throp. And as soon as I left, it was a struggle, you know. Uh I had saved up a pretty good amount of money with the money that I was making from commercials and bookings as a young kid to um to sock away to get me out to the West Coast. The first time I came out was really horrible. Not a lot of stuff going on here. Uh, there was an earthquake that happened in LA, which you know really threw things out of whack industry-wise. And it I just kind of hit a brick wall when I came out here, wasn't ready for it. Came back to New York, and as soon as I did, within like two or three months, I got the European Tour of West Side Story, which was my you know, first kind of grown-up professional on my own gig that I got. And that was that was an experience that was that was probably to this day one of the best, most um fulfilling experiences, life experiences that I have have had in my life, not just a life experience, not just from from my own perspective as as a as a person, but professionally as well. I was I was just turned 20, I was 19, I just turned 20. So I was a baby, you know, I was a baby. And then uh I did that for about a year. I I was thinking about staying for a year, and my manager said, absolutely not, get back to New York, you know, you're gonna you're gonna do more stuff here. And I was like, but really, I'm making good money on you coming back to New York. And it was the best advice she had ever given me because like two months after that, um I I got Richie Valence and Buddy the Buddy Holly story. And then after that, it was just pretty much like up and up, you know, it just it was uh it was a pretty good roller coaster ride from up from from then on.

SPEAKER_00: 23:26

I'm so curious to know. Pre-pandemic, there were certain systems that we had in place, right? What systems did you have in place that you still take with you? What systems did you discover that you're going to now extract and continue on? Which ones don't serve you anymore? What shifted for you?

SPEAKER_03: 23:43

Oh boy, the the one thing that that sticks out to me the most was that the pandemic forced me to be not forced me, I shouldn't say that, a side effect of the pandemic was that it made me more resourceful. Um obviously things were rough because there wasn't anything going on show business-wise, and pretty much just in general, um, that you know, I'm like, oh God, how am I gonna make money? Um, do I have enough to cover my back? Thankfully, you know, I was working so much pre-pandemic that I was able to collect unemployment and things like that. So those things helped. And then you had the pandemic relief. So that really like gave me that even better cushion from the max that I was getting paid from from unemployment and stuff. But it really just just forced me to um say, all right, I don't have much here. Uh how am I gonna, you know, uh keep the cupboards full of food and things like that? And how am I gonna pay I all these things just really made me more aware and self-aware, um, and more proactive. I was in, I was in that mindset of like, well, if I don't do these things, nobody's gonna do them for me. So um I think there was a certain comfort level, a certain um autopilot mode that I, I'll speak for myself that I was uh enjoying or living through that the pandemic then made me say, all right, you really gotta stay on top of yourself and watch your health and and do these things because nobody's gonna do them for you, nobody's gonna come to the rescue and things of that nature. But there was a there was a real kind of like self-awareness that I was really uh experiencing, enjoying, discovering. Um and the self-awareness was uh gratitude for being healthy, um uh gratitude for what I already have in life, and that the things that I love and people that I love and care about were all doing well, and that we would check in. Gratitude for that um connection that I had with people, that we were caring for each other, that you know, and and you could probably relate to this because it's not unlike New York how it was when 9-11 happened. Everyone was like this, yeah, and everyone in New York was like, Are you okay? You okay? Whatever you need, I got your back. Okay. It was a sense of community again, it was a sense of like, let's all take care of each other, because if we don't take care of each other, who is? Um, so the pandemic in a lot of ways brought about those same emotions, those same dynamics. And it was great. It was it was really refreshing to know that uh that our humanity was becoming apparent again. That if nothing else, I mean, as horrible as it was, what the pandemic did for me again, speaking for myself, was bring about that sense of humanity.

SPEAKER_00: 26:56

Yeah. What you described sounded to me like it's not that you weren't going that you were going through life being ungrateful, but you were going through life so quickly, probably, because things go well, that that you didn't take the moment to savor it. It's like it until something's taken away from you.

SPEAKER_03: 27:14

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly. That that happened, that happened in and spades with with everything that I was experiencing. And I think that that's a good point that you that that you brought up because you lose sight of the fact of what you got already, and it's like you don't want to lose that stuff. And and you know, uh things got really scary there, really scary, sketchy. Um uh definitely those those feelings of hopelessness and oh, is this it? And this is this is very Twilight Zony, very black mirror stuff going on right now. When things did get sketched there, you you you do you do focus on the things that that you have and you and you cherish them and you don't want to you don't want to lose them. You don't want to lose them.

SPEAKER_00: 27:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 27:58

What's your definition of living in the moment? I I really try to focus on the present. It's it definitely a struggle for me, but I I try to live in the present and just focus on what's going on right now, what what I can not necessarily control, but what I can see, what's what's tangible in my life for now. That that for me is is living in the moment. Yeah, um, you can plan for the future, you can dwell on the past, however positive or negative it was. And also, I wish I'd done that better, you know. But um having you know, learning a lesson from your past and dwelling on it are two vastly different things.

SPEAKER_01: 28:38

Indeed.

SPEAKER_03: 28:40

That's why I like to just be as present and aware and as and as self-aware in the present as much as possible and enjoy that moment or favor it, or you know, trudge through it if the if the present is not so great. You know.

SPEAKER_00: 28:59

Let me ask you this. Think about somebody that that truly admires you. And if I asked this person, you know, what they admire about you, what would they be telling me?

SPEAKER_03: 29:10

My humor, sense of humor. Um I I kind of have like a you know, goofball sense of humor to this person that just came to mind that if you were to ask them, it's like, oh, he just he makes me laugh. And um, I could be having the shittiest day, and he'll say something, and it'll make me laugh. And that to me uh makes me feel good and that I'm able to provide that to just even one person, you know. And you know, uh I like to be kind. Zane and I were at the market, and you know, anytime Zayn and I are out, it's always like playful and we're goof around and we do all kinds of fun stuff that you know a lot of fathers and sons do at the same, you know, times. And we're about to leave, and I've got the bags, you know, with Zane and toe. And this woman just randomly comes up to me, and she just came out of all out of nowhere and just said, I don't usually do this. I just want to say, you're just you're just so lovely with your son. Because I guess she was watching me the way we were interacting with each other while we were just waiting in line. So she was about two people behind me or something like that. Unbeknownst to me, she was watching how I was with him. We were playing with each other and he would say things and I would laugh and I would say something and he would laugh. I'm paraphrasing here, but she said something to the extent of like, if you're if your son ever becomes the father you are, you know, you've and I yeah, exactly. I mean, I was just like I was like, that's the most beautiful thing you've ever said or that I've ever heard. But it would it can't, I mean, Lisa, it came out of nowhere. I was just like, this this doesn't happen. How random is that? But I tell you, it just it just made my day because I wasn't expecting it. And it was just so nice for someone to just come out of left field, just just out of out of sheer desire, just share that with me. And it was great. And I was like, faith restored in humanity. I mean, not only that that it just felt good hearing that, that it was really nice, that it was genuine and it was heartfelt, it was sincere, but it made me feel good. And even even Zayn was just like, who was that lady, daddy?

SPEAKER_01: 31:27

I'm like, I don't know, Zayn, but I just am but daddy, she made you cry. No, no, it's good crying cry.

SPEAKER_03: 31:36

She made she made you, she made a single solitary tear like Aladenzo Washington come down your face like that. So it's beautiful things like that. Yeah, I exactly, you know. Um it just, you know, you hear stuff like that, it just makes your day. And it's not that I was having a particularly shitty day that morning, nothing like that. It was like, I was having a horrible day, and this lady came up and said something like that. It just it just adds to what is already there, you know, this this abundance of gratitude.

SPEAKER_00: 32:07

Totally. And you know what's really cool about that? And I I I I love that you're I don't know that you're overlooking it, but it you know, it says a lot about you and how generous you are, you know, just receiving this moment and and it bringing you joy, which is is gorgeous. But you know, you you created that, you created that joy by being joyful with your son.

SPEAKER_01: 32:26

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 32:27

And so you were seen, and so it's just literally the co-creation of of that, of connection, of joy, of the essence of humanity, right? I mean, that that was that moment.

SPEAKER_03: 32:39

Yeah, yeah. It's um and again, it's just um it's just in my nature to be that way. It's the there's there's no there's no pretentiousness in in in that interaction that I have with Zane or anybody else for that matter. Um, you know, um again, with with age and with time, I I've I've learned to just accept with you know being myself and being comfortable with that. You know, I I I I I am who I am, and it's like take me or leave me all my pluses and minuses. This is me, you know. Um, and you you hope that by and large, it's something that that the people around you that that love you or or are are around you, it's it's it's um it's positive enough that um that they enjoy having you around. That makes any sense.

SPEAKER_00: 33:31

Oh yeah. No, absolutely. You know, I asked you um on the pre-form, I asked you what stands between um you and who you want to be.

SPEAKER_03: 33:40

How does that manifest for you? You know, again, when I was when I was younger, looking back in hindsight at a lot of the the misses that you know that I've had in life, again, not not not looking at it from a regret perspective, just a just a life lesson perspective. Uh, I I've learned to just say, listen, any any future successes or any uh new things that you're gonna learn in life, things that you're gonna tackle, challenges that you're going to accept and and overcome and all that stuff, it's all up to me. It's you know, if if I want to learn something new or go to school again, I'm I'm I'm gonna be the impetus. It's not, it's it's you know, I'm the actual one that's that's out there making the conscious decision to say, I want to do this, I want to learn that, I want to improve on that, I want to, I want to challenge myself to do this, I want to, you know, be a better that. Um, I want to be less of that, you know, less of that thing that I don't want to be anymore. It's it's me. You know, I'm I'm the common denominator. And um and that's not always easy.

SPEAKER_00: 34:47

What what stands out to me that's really unique about you, you know, when you look at your your bio and the different different types of work that you do, talk to me about the diversity of your of your resume and all the things you've done and and do.

SPEAKER_03: 35:01

Oh gosh, yeah. I mean, I want to do as many things as I can. I want to have knowledge and be in as many different genres as I can to give myself the opportunity to not just work, but make money doing so, if that makes any sense. Yep. So when I would start that learning process, it was early on when I was realizing that I didn't want to stamp pat, you know, being like what they called the triple Fed. I could sing, dance, and act, and that's why I was doing so much musical theater and regular theater in my in my origins in New York. But, you know, I knew that I wanted not just more, but I really had more of a different path. As much as I love doing theater and live theater, and what was also feeding my soul was being in front of a camera. And then that turned into like, oh, well, you know, like uh I'm I'm really getting seen for a lot of these things that involve like action and stuff like that. And so then that would segue into me taking martial arts classes or Western style boxing and stuff like that, because it's like, okay, I'm doing a lot of this stuff where it's action. I want to look good doing that. So I would start training with like, you know, these boxing instructors or martial arts people. It would it was always that desire to say, okay, this is good, but if I learn that, I can do more of this. And if I add that to my resume, I can do more of that. And that that that's where the diversity comes from. That just just that desire to just expand the horizons, the proverbial horizons with learning. And and I still do that to this day, you know.

SPEAKER_00: 36:40

Hey, what do you think? If there were no arts, God forbid, in the world for whatever reason, what would you do? What do you think you would do?

SPEAKER_03: 36:48

I don't know. Probably, you know, probably uh I I would do something involving like food, because even though I'm not uh I'm not that good a cook, I actually went to, you know, took a took a couple of cooking classes and stuff like that years ago. So I would probably be doing something related to that, whether you know, I'm I you know, I'm a chef or a short order cook or uh you know a mate or D at a really nice restaurant or something like that, or a manager of a food place or a or a or a bartender or a mixologist or something like that, because it coincides with this desire for me to like, you know, give and and you know, as actors and performers, one of the perspectives I I have is when I'm performing, I'm entertaining. So that's I'm giving something. I'm giving my my my ability to entertain to someone and hopefully they like it or you know, they they they're pleased that with what I do. Well, in much the same way, if I'm making something that makes people's belly feel good, then that makes me feel good. Oh, you like when I cook you? Great, that's awesome. You like that drink I made you? Oh, that makes me so happy. Here, I'll make you another one. So totally um that that's probably like the first thing that comes to mind. That's probably what I would be doing if no arts existed. But thankfully, arts do exist. And I I I'm a real big proponent of that. I I I it makes me absolutely insane when you know, when you know government and and school districts and uh take away programs and arts programs. And and Lisa, you again, you know as well as I do how incredibly beneficial and important and necessary arts is for kids. Um, so it's like when you take that shit away, it's like, come on, man, you're really you're really eating away at a a core need for a society to be not just a good society, but you know, yeah, thriving, a thriving, successful society. And if we don't have arts, it's like we're done. We're done. We're done. We're done.

SPEAKER_00: 39:01

Well, hell yeah. So um how do you how do you want to be remembered?

SPEAKER_03: 39:07

Oh boy, whoa. Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_02: 39:09

I mean, this is um oh gosh. I I I I guess I want to be remembered as as um as someone who cared.

SPEAKER_03: 39:21

I care. I care, but you know, um I I I I care about how well people did. I I care about how society on the whole is doing, and how generous I tried to be. Um with you know, my time, my love for people, my propensity to to want to give. Um, I guess that's how I'd like to be remembered. Yeah, Phil was generous, he was he was kind and he was generous, you know? Yeah. And and loving, and loving. Is that too much?

SPEAKER_00: 40:02

No, and funny. They'll say that anyways, right?

SPEAKER_03: 40:05

Yeah, right, right. Yeah. Um, except, you know, like and this is something that uh a lot of performing parents have to deal with. It's like you we could be like the funniest, most entertaining person to any Joe Schmoe out there, Jane Doe out there in public. Oh my god, I saw your mother, Bobby Urlaz. Stuff like that. And then to the one person where it matters most, where you try to be funny with your own child, and he looks at you like deadpan, like you have three heads, like, get out of my face. You're stupid. Or it's just not what he's saying, but that's the look that he's giving you. It's like, I'm giving you my best stuff. And it's like, yeah, dad, it's not funny. And there's just you know, as well as I do that, there's probably gonna be more of that. It's like you're embarrassing dad.

SPEAKER_00: 40:46

Totally. You know, you're not making it very easy for your son who's growing up with a dad who is not only voted like the most beautiful man in the world or whatever, but also has an action figure.

SPEAKER_03: 40:58

I know. Well, you know, I worry about that too. I I really worry, I shouldn't say worry about it. Concern is a better word. It's like, God, I'm wondering how this is gonna pan out. Um, and I I, you know, I'm not a celebrity, um, but I I work enough that you know people will recognize me on the street and stuff like that. As it relates to Zayn, he's still too young, but I wonder how it's going to manifest itself in him when he sees that. And, you know, whether it'll be like, oh, dad does that, it's that's cool, or it's like, oh my god, I this is embarrassing, you know. I don't know. That's fine, and I'll cross that bridge when I get there. But I've heard other, you know, people in show business talk about that.

SPEAKER_00: 41:41

I you know, I'm I'm reminded of the story you told me about the woman that stopped you in the in the store or pointed out how you were being with Zane and how beautiful that was, right? And it's amazing how differently that could have gone if it was a fan.

SPEAKER_01: 41:55

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 41:56

Do you know do you know what I mean? So it it's gotta be really hard to navigate. You can't control what other people do. It's tricky. So thank God you're experiencing some of those things with him, you know, just uh being recognized for being wonderful with him.

SPEAKER_01: 42:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 42:13

So most people think Philip Anthony Rodriguez is, but the truth is about me, yeah. So finish the phrase, right? So most people think Philip Anthony Rodriguez is, but the truth is dot dot.

SPEAKER_02: 42:29

Boy, you you asked some really good toughies.

SPEAKER_03: 42:32

I mean, um man, I would I would think I would again, and this is I'm only relating it to what I do as a career and stuff, that I'm self-centered sometimes. Uh, and the reality is it's just like I couldn't be more like self-conscious sometimes or modest um in being able to like uh express how or boastful it's it's just not that's just not in my nature to do that. Um I guess it's some sometimes uh my confidence, and we talked about this earlier, might read as just like, well, who the hell does he think he is? When it's just like uh it's that's vastly different from self-love and self-pride and uh being confident about what you're able to do. Um, so I would say, I would say uh nope, I'm I'm not self-centered. I mean the the complete opposite is true. Um I just um you know I like who I am as a person by and large, and I and I like what I'm putting out there. Um I have a good positive energy. Um but I I don't know, again, I know it sounds like a broken record. I don't know if if if um if that makes sense to you as an answer.

SPEAKER_00: 44:01

No, it makes it makes perfect sense.

SPEAKER_03: 44:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 44:05

No, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03: 44:06

I mean that's that that's the only thing that that I'm if I had like a about I don't know, maybe about 120 seconds to really dwell. But I think I think that's the first thing that comes to mind. That that's the that's the one that went okay. That's the that's the only thing that kind of pops into my head with that question.

SPEAKER_00: 44:24

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's funny because I don't know if you have any data to support that. Maybe you do, or if it's you, you your perception of what you think other people might think your weaknesses are, et cetera. You know, like it's funny how that goes.

SPEAKER_03: 44:39

Yeah, it's probably solely my own perspective.

SPEAKER_00: 44:42

Yeah, so it's so that's not how you would like to be perceived.

SPEAKER_03: 44:45

Right.

SPEAKER_00: 44:46

Yeah, because you don't feel that way at all.

SPEAKER_03: 44:48

In the in the past, and sometimes to to some extent, I still do it on on occasion today. I project the hell out of stuff. I wasn't thinking that, Phil. Wasn't you know, like really? I I just misread you or something like that. Um, but again, that those those instances are few and far between where I I I I'm really projecting.

SPEAKER_00: 45:09

That's interesting.

SPEAKER_03: 45:11

Um, and I think I get that. That's certainly like that's a personality trait that I got from my mom. And it wasn't like of epic proportions with her, but especially like in her older age, she would like get a little bit paranoid about what people were thinking or doing. I'm like, nothing could be further from the truth, you know. Like we would all say it. It's like, oh man, um that mom does that. I'm still starting to do that shit. I better, I better keep that stuff.

SPEAKER_00: 45:41

Well, it's interesting because it's a defense mechanism, isn't it? I mean, we we protect the defense mechanism. You'd rather say you're thinking this so that you're facing it before, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 45:50

And the thing is, is that generationally it diminishes because my my grandmother, her mother had that stuff, and like it was crazy. It's like that you couldn't be like, she's out to get me, she's trying to destroy me, or something like that. Like, what? No, no, my sweet grandmother, nothing. And my mom would my mom would tell her, and it's like, and she'd roll her eyes and she'd be like, she's she's crazy, she's going on and on about this.

SPEAKER_00: 46:18

Oh my god, that's hilarious! So I say, What makes you? and I say a word, and you just let me know. It doesn't have to be fast. It can be if you want. I mean, up to you. So, okay, you ready? I'm ready. Okay, here we go. What makes you hungry?

SPEAKER_03: 46:33

Oh, you mean like not not physically? Oh, okay. So yeah, okay, it is that ambiguous.

SPEAKER_02: 46:43

Oh man, oh, what makes me hungry?

SPEAKER_00: 46:46

What makes me hungry? I'd love to be in your head right now. So is there a fight going on in there between seriously?

SPEAKER_03: 46:52

Like, I'm I'm swimming right now. My my my three percent of my brain uses swimming right now. Oh, I say that because we're, you know, supposedly like we only use three percent of our brains. Um oh gosh.

SPEAKER_02: 47:09

Oh, uh the unknown. Unknown, the unexpected makes me hungry. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 47:18

That's cool. So do you find that that fortifies you? Like, you know, when you're hungry, sometimes people get hangry when they're hungry. Like some people get irritated, some people get so so when you when you feel hungry for something like that, how does that how does that show up for you?

SPEAKER_03: 47:37

Oh man, I just want to um uh I want to meet that hunger, I want to satisfy that hunger. You know, a complimentary word could be like craving. I also crave wanting to see this project or see that movie. I crave wanting to go to this class because oh, I could learn so much about that. I'm gonna do this, you know. So I think that's what I meant by uh unexpected. There's uh there's a pleasantness, there's an excitement that comes from the unexpected. I'd be surprised. If I know what's coming, then it's like, well, what's the point? Yeah, when you get on a roller coaster ride, um, it's really scary. Okay, great. Let me find out for myself. You sure you want to get on that roller coaster? You know, okay, I'm gonna come hell or high water, I'm going on this uh roller coaster, and I get on it, and I you know, the first two seconds I feel like I'm gonna have a heart attack, and then like the next remaining 30, I'm just like, this is the best thing ever. So um it's that uh it's that joy um and and thrill and rush that you get from the unexpected. I think that's what makes me hungry. Yeah, and that's everything.

SPEAKER_00: 48:49

What makes you sad?

SPEAKER_02: 48:52

Oh boy. I guess it's disappointing to people. What makes me sad when I'm like when either through my actions or inaction, um someone's saddened by what I did or didn't do.

SPEAKER_03: 49:13

Does that make sense? Because it can be both. It's like, well, you didn't do this, so now I'm sad, or you did this, that really made me sad. And when I see that in people's eyes, um, I I I get really sad.

SPEAKER_02: 49:29

Or when I sense the disappointment in people that makes me sad.

SPEAKER_00: 49:35

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. For sure. Do you get sad when you can't fix something that you want to fix for somebody?

SPEAKER_02: 49:47

Absolutely, absolutely, because I, you know, by nature, I'm a I'm a giver, I'm a fixer.

SPEAKER_03: 49:54

I I I want to be able to, you know, provide and be there for people. Not at you know, risking my own self or my taking care of myself, but you know, I'm the type of person who derives more pleasure from Christmas time, sitting around the Christmas tree giving gifts and seeing them open up that gift than than me opening up something that someone's gotten me. Now, that that's that's not to say that I don't enjoy getting gifts or having nice things done for me, but oh, that sheer joy that I get from seeing my kid opening up a gift or rapping, something like that. And I was able to give him that.

SPEAKER_00: 50:33

For sure. No, thank you for sharing that. Um what inspires you?

SPEAKER_02: 50:38

Oh, um, people inspire me.

SPEAKER_03: 50:42

It's where I get my my power, my ammunition to do what I do when I'm auditioning for something or when I'm auditioning for a role or trying to create a character. What frustrates you for the same reason that I'm inspired by humanity, I'm also perturbed and disturbed and frustrated with society's ills. We don't have to have the climate issues that we're having right now, we don't have to have homelessness, we don't have to have children hungry, which really makes me upset. And it's because of things we can fix. And uh it just frustrates me that we're not taking into account our children and and our children's children in our future. That's what rushed me.

SPEAKER_00: 51:26

No, absolutely. What makes you laugh?

SPEAKER_03: 51:30

People who find humor and who can find humor brilliantly in just everyday observances. Uh you know, life's funny or life can be funny. Um that's what I appreciate. I I I can appreciate when when people see the humor in everything.

SPEAKER_00: 51:51

Yeah, well, it's healing, right? I mean, that's what I'm hearing.

SPEAKER_03: 51:54

Healing, it's healing.

SPEAKER_00: 51:55

What makes you angry?

SPEAKER_03: 51:57

Meanness. I don't like when people are mean and and vindictive.

SPEAKER_00: 52:02

So finally, my friend, what makes you grateful?

SPEAKER_02: 52:06

Oh gosh. Um being alive.

SPEAKER_03: 52:12

Um and I think that that really uh becomes more apparent or more in the forefront at the older we get, because you know, we we we start coming to the realization that our our time here on on earth is very limited, um, and that that is finite.

SPEAKER_02: 52:31

So I I'm I'm grateful that I'm and I'm healthy, that I'm able to get up out of bed and have beautiful, loving family and and children.

SPEAKER_03: 52:42

There's a lot, there's a lot of love in this house. So grateful for that.

SPEAKER_00: 52:46

Finally, what are the what are the top three things that have happened so far today?

SPEAKER_03: 52:53

Yes, I mean, like I said, we just moved in and we're we're living in a pretty nice slimming place again. Grateful, a lot of gratitude for being able to live where I'm at, but just to be able to walk in here and be like in a nice neighborhood, it's quiet, it's peaceful. Um, you know, I I I loved getting up in the morning and getting, you know, Zayn ready for his day and for his school and stuff. I I get excited about that. And once I drop Zayn off at school, the 20 minutes to a half an hour that I have in coming back home, but just to be able to say, Oh, this is great. I'm just, it's just me and myself in my car. I can do anything I want. I can listen to anything I want. I don't have to listen to like kitty songs or anything like that. This is my realm. This is my time. I can do with it whatever I want. And just to be able to have that every now and then is just like, yes, yes, alone.

SPEAKER_00: 53:49

What are you most looking forward to? Just either today or in general. Do you have something that you're sort of really looking forward to?

SPEAKER_03: 53:54

I'm really looking forward to the next project I'm working on. I mean, I've been I just I get anxious in a good way when um there's the possibility of me doing something new and different, you know, and that I mean specifically when it when it comes to acting, you know, and everything that comes with that, you know, again the excitement, the unexpectedness, what's to come. You know, hopefully if it if it if it pans out, um hopefully there'll be a nice, you know, that financial reward. Because with the financial reward, then then comes the things that I can do for my family and for myself and all that stuff. And you know, do the things that we love to do, which is like get things for people. You know?

SPEAKER_00: 54:34

Yeah. Oh my gosh. So it's been such a pleasure, such a pleasure speaking with you today. Thank you so much for taking the time. Really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_03: 54:42

Thank you. Take care. You be safe, okay? Yeah, too.

SPEAKER_00: 54:45

Bye. I've been speaking today with Philip Anthony Rodriguez. Thanks for listening. Stay safe and healthy, everyone, and remember to live in the moment. In music, stop time is that beautiful moment where the band is suspended in rhythmic unison, supporting the soloists to express their individuality. In the moment, I encourage you to take that time and create your own rhythm. Until next time, I'm Lisa Hopkins. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, I invite you to dive deeper into cultivating a life of creative possibilities with my new book, The Places Where There Are Spaces. It's filled with personal stories and insights to help you embrace living in the moment. You can grab your copy by following the link in the show notes or wherever books are sold. Let's keep the conversation going and growing.