Mel Rodriguez – Enlisted

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) I’m working on “Enlisted,” which has a new timeslot. It’s on Fridays at 9pm, after “Bones.” I’m also a regular on the HBO series “Getting On.” Also, I did a film with my buddy Mark Phinney. It just debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. It’s a film about food addiction called Fat.

Q) Please describe your character Chubowski on “Enlisted.”

A) There wasn’t a lot when we first started. Mike Royce and I kept missing each other. Our schedules kept messing up. I’d go in and read for him and then find out I got something. Then, I’d find out I had another job out of town. So, we weren’t able to get together. I finally found out through my agent that this show had come up and they told me it was a military comedy. I got excited by it. I got the script on Friday and had to shoot on Monday. I remember I was a little freaked out because Chubowski’s role wasn’t very big in the beginning and I didn’t really know what to do with him. So, I was watching this documentary called Born Rich and I was reading this play by David Mamet called “A Life In The Theatre.” I guess Chubowski is like a combination of the two of those. He doesn’t say it, but I think he comes from a lot of wealth and got stuck in Rear D. He’s trying to impress his dad or someone. I’ve kind of developed this backstory for him that maybe had a past in the theatre that is very dignified and upper crust type of guy.

Q) What do you find challenging about the role?

A) We’re out there doing drills and stuff. If it looks hard on screen, it is usually ten times as hard. We’re out there in the sun and doing drills. I’m doing this ten times from ten different angles. You’re crawling through the mud for twenty-five takes. I guess the physical aspect is really challenging.

Q) There is such great chemistry between the cast members. Was it an instant connection or did it take some time for you all to bond?

A) Sometimes it takes some time, but this was instant. I think that had a lot to do with Geoff Stults. The vibe on set has kind of to do with how cool or not cool your number one is. I don’t know if it has to do with Geoff’s background in sports and just being a team player, but he’s just the best (and I’ve told him this before) number one I’ve really ever met. We all just kind of fit in and immediately it was kind of like a team. Parker [Young] is so funny. And Mort [Burke] is so funny. I think laughter is this really great disarming tool and everybody had that in their arsenal. We were constantly just laughing and really open with each other. We all clicked pretty well very, very soon. Day one we were all laughing together and having a really good time.

Q) How much improv does the cast get to do on the show?

A) I remember thanking Mike and Kevin for that! They let us play, especially the platoon. There is a lot of scripted stuff and they’ll jump in and say, “Say this!” We have this amazing brain on set between those two and the writers watching and saying, “Say this!” We’re all throwing stuff in. A lot of it is unscripted, people coming up with their own stuff and them letting us play. The main objective has been to break Geoff. That has been the litmus test and he’s really good. He’s hard to break! They really let us play a lot and some of the stuff will make it in and some of it won’t. I think what they are able to capture is us really having a good time.

Q) What have been some of your most memorable moments from filming “Enlisted?”

A) We all got together to watch the second episode of “Enlisted” over at Mike Royce’s place. We all got together, had some laughs and it was great. Afterwards, I got into my car and I looked down at my phone and I had gotten a text from my cousin. He had actually been stationed in Iraq and his text said, “I saw the show.” I thought, “Oh God!” He was someone I was kind of worried about because he had served. I thought, “Oh my goodness! What if he didn’t really respond to it or liked it?” I was a little freaked out, to be honest. I braced myself and sent a text back that said, “What did you think?” Awesomely enough, he texted back, “It was awesome! It was hilarious! I loved it!” Then, afterwards we texted for a little while. He sent me a text that said, “We really need this right now.” I remember I got a little choked up because it was really beautiful. I know that is what Mike, Kevin [Biegel] and all of us on set talked about this. The fact that these guys need laughter right now, laughter is really good medicine. Since then, I’ve spoken to people in the service or have family overseas who have said they were touched. At the end of the day, we all want to make an awesome show and we all want to be on shows. We have these Hollywood agendas, but we also have the basic stuff where we want to feed our families and we want to pay our rent. If you can make someone laugh who needs to laugh, that’s kind of a double dipped cherry on top of a chocolate sundae. The other story I have is about a football episode we were filming. We needed people in a crowd so we had a bunch of extras and they brought in a bunch of dummies to fill out the crowd. A guy came in with a bus of like a thousand dummies and set them up in the stands. Before a take, I remember looking up at the stands and I noticed one dummy, but I was kind of spacing out a little bit. I was looking at this one dummy and it started to look a little odd. I looked a little closer and realized it wasn’t a dummy. It was someone in one of the outfits pretending to be a dummy. I thought it was maybe one of the background players that had a psychotic break or something! It was really weird. It sat there for like five minutes and it was definitely a dude and it was definitely not moving. I decided I had to get closer to see what was going on. When I got closer, sure enough it was Parker! I just laughed! First, he’s just so insanely dedicated. I feel like that’s the way he dedicates himself to his role. Finally, I asked Kyle [Davis] if it was Parker in the stands because he had been up there for like fifteen minutes and hadn’t budged. He was up there pretending to be a dummy for like half an hour! We all just watched up in the stands trying to do his thing, pull his prank on everyone. Eventually, he got his joke in, which was someone was supposed to walk by him and he jumped up and scared them. He’s dedicated that way, which I think is really cool and that was really funny.

Q) What do you think it is about the show that has made it a quick fan favorite program?

A) I think it’s a really timely piece and I think it is a necessary piece. It’s also just fun. Kevin and Mike have good intentions and I think people see that. I really believe the writing is great and it’s a good show, but all of us are really having an extraordinarily good time doing it. I think that translates and I just feel like that’s the vibration. Not to be too out there, but that’s the way it’s vibrating and people are getting that. I hope! So far, we’ve heard really good things and it’s an honor.

Q) You’re also on the show “Getting On.” What made you want to be a part of it?

A) Similar to “Enlisted,” Mark [Olsen] and Will [Scheffer] had created “Big Love.” I just have to say I feel really lucky to work with these four guys. Between Mike and Kevin with “Raymond” and “Scrubs,” Mark and Will had created “Big Love.” I had played this small part that was an arc on “Big Love” as a transvestite Mexican exotic bird dealer. We had kind of kept in touch and they remembered me when they were casting this. I had seen the British series and really loved it and when I read it I felt like it was necessary. The three leads are women and not  your typical women. They are all women (and God they are going to kill me for this) that are all over women, but that are just so beautifully flawed and real. The situations were just so honest and genuine. That was what really attracted me to the show.

Q) How are you able to manage doing double duty on both shows?

A) I was on first position on HBO and they allowed me to do the stuff on “Enlisted.” It was really cool of them. And Mike and Kevin were cool about working around the schedule. I was on all six episodes of “Getting On” and then they wrote around it so I could be in more episodes, which was so freaking cool. So, I was able to do both. I think I did eight out of thirteen episodes of “Enlisted.” So, I’ll be on there a lot.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) Obviously, thank you from the bottom of my heart! I just feel like this thing we do takes two to dance and I really couldn’t do it without you. If I’ve ever made you laugh, cry, think or do anything that’s our souls having a little hug. That’s some pretty powerful stuff right there and I thank you for that. Also, I’d probably tell them that I’ve been doing this entire interview from my kitchen table in my boxers and I’m wearing a blazer because it’s a little chilly.