‘East Los High’ Actor Oskar Rodriguez Talks Season 3, Pursing Dreams and More

Oskar Rodriguez is a rising dancer-actor with a passion deeply rooted in being the one to “make it” in the competitive entertainment industry. Glambergirlblog had to opportunity to speak with Rodriguez exclusively during his first phone interview and he opened up about overcoming barriers, landing his gig on East Los High, pursing dreams and more.

Born in Puerto Rico, Rodriguez started dancing at the age of 15 and decided to take his chances in Los Angeles to dance professionally and made the big move at 19. With Spanish being his first language, the young dancer faced barriers of breaking out of his shell and landing gigs in Hollywood. “When I first started I was just, very much in a shell. I was worried about…I didn’t want to be judged or anything. I was just in this little shell coming from a small island.”

He added, “But slowly I started getting better, meeting cool people around, and doing my auditions.” Those auditions landed him to dance behind such entertainers like Janet Jackson, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Carrie Underwood and PSY, but his gig dancing with Shania Twain during her Las Vegas residency last year sparked an epiphany that transitioned him into acting and landing the role of Omar on season three of Hulu’s East Los High. 

“Funny enough I auditioned for East Los High the first season and because East Los High was coming out as a dancing show a friend of mine, who was helping with casting, she knew I was a dancer and she knew that dancers were going to come into it, so they invited me to the first season and unfortunately at that time I really wasn’t doing the whole acting thing so I just went in and winged it,” Rodriguez recalls.

“I got a call back and it was cool, but unfortunately at the end I didn’t end up getting the part. Then season two came about and they only needed girls. Right after I left the show [Shania Twain residency] I got a call that they were doing season three and they needed boys for the show. So I went in.”

Two months went by and Oskar didn’t hear anything about the role that combined both his passions: dance and acting. While in Florida working on a show, he received a call about a dance call back in LA. Tight on money, he still booked a flight to LA to go to the call back in front of Hulu, producers, and the director of the show. He took a chance and went, convincing the casting director to let him read for the role of Omar while he was still there; his initiative won him the role.

Photo Credit: Vince Trupsin

Oskar describes his character Omar as someone who “has a comedic timing that is always wrong.” The character Omar, along with a younger brother figure named Luis, comes from a bad neighborhood of East LA who has a life changing moment when they audition for the Bomb Squad and make it. Omar makes a family with the squad and evolves throughout the third season.

Oskar Rodriguez’ road on Hollywood can read rather serendipitous so he has some advice, especially for his Latin community, on pursing dreams. “A lot of people just think because of language barriers or because who we are as Latin people, sometimes we think that we don’t have, like the world is not for us or we feel like we can not make it, or [things] are even worse or more difficult for us just because of where we come from,” he begins.

Adding, “I know this sound so cliché, but it is, don’t ever give up. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel and you got to follow it and don’t allow anyone to put you down. Be the best of who you are as a person because validation from Hollywood, television, or a magazine it only helps you so much.” He ended his advice saying, “I just hope that people can make the jump out here, or to New York, or to where ever they want and just know that it’s going to happen, with hard work and dedication it’s going to happen period.”

Outside of seeing Rodriguez on the third season of East Los High; anticipate a comedy web series that the actor is developing, a pilot called Joy, that is in production this summer, and a pilot called From The Top, created by Marc Cleary and produced by Cleary along with Vampire Diaries actress Kat Graham, about the reality of dance life.

“It took me a long time to get to where I’m at right now and even though I’m just starting, like this is barely just the beginning of Oskar Rodriguez, and my life here in Hollywood. You’re going to be seeing a lot of great things, not only from myself but peers, friends, and family. We’re going to take over this place and it’s going to be amazing.”

To keep up with all the things Oskar Rodriguez has coming up follow him on Twitter and Instagram @oskarrodriguez.

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Photo Credit: Vince Trupsin