Ever since playing the sweet-natured embalmer Rico on the hit HBO series Six Feet Under, actor Freddy Rodriguez’s star has been steadily rising. He’s co-starred in a slew of films already this year (Poseidon, Lady in the Water), including the upcoming ensemble Bobby–a film about the day in the life of several characters in 1968, the day Robert F. Kennedy was shot. Rodriguez had some choice words to say about his Bobby experience.
Hollywood.com: I didn’t realize the character you play in Bobby was the busboy in the famous photo, kneeling next to the fatally wounded Robert Kennedy. Did you ever meet that individual?
FR: No. My character, Jose, was loosely based on that person in the photo. We saw the photo and based Jose on that, working our ways backwards.
HW: Emilio Estevez is certainly stepping up to the plate on this. Is it infinitely easier working with a director who is also an actor?
FR: Totally. With Emilio, he is an actor. What comes with that, he is aware of what the process is. And allows that process to happen organically instead of trying to control it. He’s gracious and respectful, giving us space to create. It’s always easier to work with a person who knows what you are going through.
HW: And working with such a stellar cast must have been thrilling.
FR: It’s always humbling to me to see people like Sharon Stone, Demi Moore and Anthony Hopkins come together when they really believe in a project. There wasn’t any money on the film, so it wasn’t about the money or who got the bigger trailer or any of that, you know? It was truly about the project, the material. And that boils down to why we became artists in the first place. It’s kind of like belonging to an independent theater company, you believe in a project and are passionate about it. To get together collectively with other actors to create great art. And I felt like that’s what we did in this film. From day one, I think everyone was passionate about it not only because of the material but because of the subject matter. It’s humbling to see that, people put their quotes and paychecks aside to all get together and do a project like this.
HW: Was your family able to give you any insights on that day?
FR: Not really. My dad told me a little about where he was on the day RFK was shot. Most of the research came from my own independent research and material Emilio provided at the time.
HW: And in doing the research, what were your feelings about what happened?
FR: Well, in terms of the my character, what was interesting to me when I saw the photo was that here you have the next president of the United States, lying on the ground with blood spewing out of his body, and the one person kneeling next to him is a busboy of all people. That just spoke volumes to me because at the moment of truth, when you hear gunshots ringing out everywhere and people are getting shot, I think human reaction is to flee, run for cover. And that wasn’t [the busboy’s] reaction. His reaction was to put his own safety on the line. And show courage and nobility, bravery. To kneel down next to a dying man, and comfort him at the moment he was shot. That just spoke to me about who he was as a person and how big his heart was. So from the beginning of the movie until the end, that was the common thread of who he is, a character trait that you see throughout the film.
HW: I often wonder what it would have been like if Bobby Kennedy lived.
FR: Well, you look at some of things he stood for and you can just imagine. He stood for abolishing racism, he marched with Martin Luther King. He wanted to pull the troops out of Vietnam. God knows how many lives he would have saved if he would have taken power. And god knows what those people would have done with their lives, maybe become future leaders. Inventors, people who would have changed the world. But then again, maybe everything is meant to be, who knows?
HW: Do you feel Six Feet Under finally put you on the map?
FR: I mean, every actor is defined by their hits. Just the way it is. And [Six Feet Under] was my hit. It changed my life, my career and it was a very special part of my life. I’m always humbled when I hear people like you praise the show, because it was so special to me, doing that show.
HW: Moving from something as high-quality as Six Feet to film, has it been difficult finding equally good projects?
FR: I always try to base my choices off of the people who are involved, people who directing it, writing it. I try to have a level of quality and integrity behind my choices. But sometimes it doesn’t turn out that way. It seems like you choose bad movies from the get-go, but you don’t know they are going to be bad movies because the intentions are all good. For example, I put out Poseidon and Lady in the Water this summer, and I’ve been getting a lot of jabs for Poseidon. And I’m like, “Look, if Wolfgang Petersen calls and asks you to be in his movie, this big $150 million movie, how are you going to say no to that? Put yourself in my shoes when the decision process was being made. You tell me if you’d say no.” It’s not under my control if its good or not, I just base my decisions off of what’s there at that point.
HW: What’s up next?
FR: I’m just finishing doing Grindhouse for Robert Rodriguez. It’s the first time I’ve ever played an action hero, or action person in a film. So it’ll be interesting to see myself on screen gun toting and knife wielding. He’s a badass in the film.
