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David Jai Rodriguez (born June 22, 1979) is an American actor and musician best known as the culture guide on the Bravo network's Emmy-winning American reality television program Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. He also co-wrote a book with the other Queer Eye hosts. Rodriguez starred as Geoffrey in the sitcom Malibu Country from 2012 to 2013.

Personal life

Rodriguez is of Puerto Rican and Italian descent, He performed with gospel choirs from the age of eleven, and studied musical theater at the Boces Cultural Art Center in Syosset, New York (now called Long Island High School for the Arts). He has acted in several plays, including Spinning into Butter at the Lincoln Center. xPosed told the story of Rodriguez's life and struggle to come out to his religious family as well as his career on stage and in Queer Eye. His Queer Eye co-stars Ted Allen and Carson Kressley appeared as themselves.

In November 1993, at age 14, Rodriguez appeared in one episode of the daytime drama All My Children. In August 2005, he made a two-day guest appearance on the daytime drama One Life to Live.

In November 2014, Rodriguez appeared as Diego Diaz in Kingdom as a physical therapist.

From August 2014, Rodriguez appeared as "Ritchie Valentine" in The Horizon. In 2016, he appeared in an episode of The Bold and the Beautiful . He debuted on May 28 of that year and appeared initially for four episodes before appearing for another episode in November of that year. Rodriguez has said that he loves the soap opera medium, explaining, "I think it's a real acting flex, because you get one take and you move on," he says. "People have gotten it down to a science where they're doing their prep, they're coming in, and they know their characters."

In May 2007, Rodriguez announced he would be appearing as a regular judge on two new reality shows: MTV's Shower Power (an American Idol-type singing contest) and Court TV's The Jury, (a Judge Judy-type show where cases are decided by a panel of celebrity judges).

On November 3, 2007, Rodriguez started co-hosting Ultimate Style, with Daisy Fuentes, on the Style Network. The weekly series covered celebrities, fashion, beauty, home and all things related to style. Also in 2007, Rodriguez hosted one season of travel/style show Styleyes on Sí TV.

Rodriguez also hosted the TV show Groomer Has It, which premiered April 12, 2008 on Animal Planet. He also appears on GSN Live as a sub host.

Music

As a singer, Rodriguez has performed on stage and as a recording artist. In 2002, he created his own musical cabaret show, titled Monday Night Twisted Cabaret, which ran at New York gay club xl for a year. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: The Fab Five's Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better (Published by Clarkson Potter, 2004).

Filmography

{| class="wikitable"

! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year

! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film

! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role

! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes

|-

| 2002 || The New Guy || Jose ||

|-

| 2005 || The Producers || Sabu ||

|-

| 2009 || Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!! || Angelo Ferraro ||

|-

| 2015 || Kiss Me, Kill Me || Detective Santos ||

|-

| 2019 || From Zero to I Love You || Andrew ||

|-

| 2022 || Bros || Jason Shepherd ||

|-

| 2026 || || || Post-production

|}

{| class="wikitable"

! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year

! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | TV

! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role

! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes

|-

| 1993 || All My Children || Faith's Father || TV debut

|-

| 2003–2007 || Queer Eye for the Straight Guy || Himself || culture expert

|-

| 2007 || Nip/Tuck || Chaz Darling || episode: "Chaz Darling"

|-

| 2008–2009 || Groomer Has It || Himself || host

|-

| 2010 || Gigantic || Max Michaelson || 3 episodes

|-

| rowspan="2" | 2011 || Detroit 1-8-7 || Christina Draguilera/Joe || episode: "Legacy/Drag City"

|-

| Harry's Law || Amanda Knott || episode: "Send in the Clowns"

|-

| 2011, 2014 || How I Met Your Mother || Tom || 2 episodes

|-

| rowspan="3" | 2012 || Days of Our Lives || Matteo|| episode #1.11755

|-

| Are You There, Chelsea? || Sandy/Chuck || episode: "Dee Dee's Pillow"

|-

| Bones || Theo || episode: "The Don't in the Do"

|-

| 2012–2013 || Malibu Country || Geoffrey || series regular

|-

| 2013 || Betas || Salazar|| episode: "One on One"

|-

| 2014 || Kingdom || Diego Diaz || 3 episodes

|-

| rowspan="2" | 2015 || Hell's Kitchen || Himself || episode: "17 Chefs Compete"

|-

| Liv and Maddie || Jacob Michaels|| episode: "Ask Her More-A-Rooney"

|-

| 2015–2019 || EastSiders || Jimmy || 8 episodes

|-

| rowspan="3" | 2016 || Grace and Frankie || Jojo || episode: "The Negotiation"

|-

| Dance Moms || Himself/host || episode: "Girl Talk, Part 3"

|-

| The Bold and the Beautiful || Photographer Sax|| episode #1.7357

|-

| rowspan="7" | 2017 || The Magicians || Javier || episode: "The Flying Forest"

|-

| Grey's Anatomy || Max || episode: "In the Air Tonight"

|-

| Sharknado 5: Global Swarming || Peter|| TV movie

|-

| Dice || Doug|| episode: "Fingerless"

|-

| Wisdom of the Crowd || David Silva|| 2 episodes

|-

| Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television || Roosevelt Manager|| episode: "Pilot"

|-

| Kendra on Top || Himself || season 6

|-

| 2018 || The Resident || Channing Brewster|| episode: "Family Affair"

|-

| 2019 || Dollface || Mario|| episode: "Beauty Queen"

|-

| rowspan="3" | 2020 || The Rookie || Griffin|| episode: "The Overnight"

|-

| Equal || José Sarria || docuseries

|-

| The Eric Andre Show ||Himself || episode: "Bone TV"

|-

| rowspan="2" | 2022 || Bosch: Legacy || Officer Scott Templin|| 2 episodes

|-

| Uncoupled || Jonathan #2 || 3 episodes

|-

| 2023 || Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens || Detective Johnson || 2 episodes

|-

|2023

|Around the Sun (audio drama)

|Andrew

|3 episodes

|-

|2024

||High Potential

|Jeff

| 1 episode

|-

| 2025

| The Young and the Restless

| Pietro

| Guest role

|}

References

  • Photoshoot with Jai Rodriguez