Mel Rodriguez

Mel Rodríguez
Rodriguez at 2014 Imagen Awards
Born	Melvin Dimas Rodríguez (1973-06-12) June 12, 1973 Miami, Florida, U.S.
Education	State University of New York, Purchase (BFA)
Occupations	Actor and comedian
Years active	1999–present

Melvin Dimas Rodríguez (born June 12, 1973) is an American actor and comedian, best known for starring as Nurse Patsy de la Serda on the HBO comedy Getting On, as Todd Rodriguez on the Fox comedy The Last Man on Earth, and as Ernie Gomes on the Showtime drama On Becoming a God in Central Florida. Other notable works include recurring as Marco Pasternak on AMC's Better Call Saul and co-starring on the short-lived Fox sitcoms Running Wilde and Enlisted. In 2021, Rodriguez appeared in the crime television series CSI: Vegas.¹

Rodríguez, who is of Cuban American heritage, was born in Miami, Florida, and grew up in its Little Havana neighborhood. He first pursued a career in boxing, until he was led onto the path of acting by his high school teacher at age 17, first starring in an AIDS awareness play entitled The Inner Circle with Pedro Zamora. He dropped out of high school and managed to receive a scholarship, at the prestigious theatre arts and film conservatory at SUNY Purchase. After his graduation, Rodríguez stayed in New York, managed a cigar shop, and worked primarily in theatre. He did his first role on screen in 1999 in an episode of the legal drama television series Law & Order, which was filming in the state. Rodríguez then moved to Los Angeles, focusing more on his career in the film industry and less on his acting on stage.² His first role in a full-length feature film was in the 1999 comedy Wirey Spindell. He achieved his breakthrough by scoring the recurring role of Frank on the ABC comedy series George Lopez in 2002.³

Rodríguez is most known for his recurring roles as Sgt. Núñez on Community and SPC Chubowski on the Fox sitcom Enlisted. He portrayed Marco Pasternak, the best friend and partner-in-crime of Jimmy McGill in the first and third seasons of Better Call Saul. He had a brief role as Officer Morales in the 2002 film Panic Room, and was a main cast member on The Last Man on Earth (2015).⁴ He also appeared as Officer Martinez in Little Miss Sunshine (2006).

Rodriguez decided to depart CSI: Vegas after its first season as Medical Examiner Hugo Ramirez.⁵

In 2025, he played engineer Bruce Geller in the Netflix series The Residence.