People who are determined to find love often eagerly and willingly embark on a desperate attempt to finally find the person they’ll naturally connect with for the rest of their lives. Once they do meet the person they believe they’ll have everlasting happiness with, they’ll purposefully take whatever means necessary to secure their bond, even if it means completely changing their lives to build a romantic relationship.
That persistent objective of achieving and maintaining that connection is alluringly presented in The CW’s freshman musical comedy series, ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,’ which returned this week and airs on Mondays at 8/7c. Theater veteran Vincent Rodriguez III, who People Magazine has recently named as a One to Watch, made his series regular debut on the show. He portrays the objective of affection of the title character, who’s played by the show’s co-creator, writer and lead actress, Rachel Bloom, who has won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy and the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series this season.
‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ follows Rebecca Bunch (Bloom), a single woman who still longs to be with her longtime soul mate, Josh (Rodriguez), who dumped her after their summer fling during summer camp in 2005. In 2015, after being inspired by a TV commercial for a butter spread, she restarts her pursuit of Josh after she spots him in New York City. When he tells her that he is moving back to his hometown of West Covina, California, Rebecca decides to move there too, as she hopes that it will give her a fresh start and bring her closer to Josh.
Once she arrives in California, Rebecca is hired by Darryl Whitefeather (Pete Gardner) as a partner at his West Covina law firm. After buying herself a house, she quickly becomes friends with her co-worker Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin) and apathetic neighbor Heather (Vella Lovell), while also forming a complicated on-again-off-again relationship with Josh’s friend Greg (Santino Fontana).
Rodriguez generously took the time recently to talk about starring in ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ during an exclusive interview over the phone. Among other things, the actor discussed how he was drawn to play Josh in the musical comedy series, including the fact that he finds it refreshing that Bloom and her co-creator, Aline Brosh McKenna, specifically decided to make Josh Asian-American. He also noted that he thinks that both Josh and Rebecca have an issue of only dealing with their pasts, as they continuously run away from their presents. But he hopes they can overcome those obstacles so that they can continue their romantic relationship.
ShockYa (SY): You play Josh Chan, the ex-boyfriend of Rebecca Bunch, the title character of the freshman CW series, ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.’ What inspired you to take on the role of Josh, and how do you relate to him?
Vincent Rodriguez III (VR): Well, I was in New York, and I was performing in (the Off-Broadway rock musical,) ‘Here Lies Love.’ During that production, my agent got me an audition for the TV show, and that’s when I discovered the role of Josh.
It was refreshing to hear that the show was specifically looking for an Asian actor. I felt like the description of the character was pretty much on point with who I am. (laughs) That’s also very refreshing, as it’s not something that I’m used to having. I had been in New York for 12 years, so I’ve seen a lot of character descriptions. So this role felt promising. (laughs)
So I went in to audition, and the casting associate kindly put me on tape. I was then called back, and I met with Marc Webb, who’s one of our executive producers, and he was also the director for our pilot. I received the approval from him, and then had my final call-back. That’s when I met Rachel Bloom for the first time.
They apparently filmed my whole audition. I asked a bunch of questions, and we went over the scenes. I think that I got the call that I was cast a week or two later. Aline (who also serves as one of the show’s executive producers) and Rachel both very excitedly left me a voice mail and said to call them back. But I wasn’t sure if that was because I had gotten the role, or if they wanted to say, “Thank you so much for trying, but we’re giving it to someone else.” (laughs)
I was actually in the middle of a show for ‘Here Lies Love,’ for which I understudied for the two male leads. But for that day’s show, I was performing as part of the ensemble, and I was getting ready to go on stage. But when I heard that voicemail, I immediately called them back. When the two of them were on the phone, they were freaking out and screaming. They were yelling over the phone, “You’re Josh Chan! We’re so excited! It was always you! We had to submit other people, too, but you’re the only one who got the zip code joke.” (laughs)
I was ugly crying in the bathroom/dressing room of The Public Theater as I was getting ready to go on stage for a funeral scene. I told them that; I said, “I’m crying right now, and I have to go for a funeral scene. So I won’t be crying in the scene for the correct reason. So thank you.”
They said, “We’ll let you know the details. We’ll have a meeting with you about the character.” So a few months later, we had a meeting about Josh and who he is. That’s when they also verified my nationality. They said, “Since you’re Filipino, Josh will also be Filipino.”
We also talked about Josh’s family, which was interesting, because at the time, there were talks about my family and how many sisters I have, which is three. We used that for the Thanksgiving episode, and they said, “We’re going to keep it tight and give you two sisters, instead of three on the show.” (laughs) They decided to make Josh’s family a little smaller.
SY: Besides being a co-creator and writer on the show, Rachel Bloom, who you mentioned earlier, also plays Rebecca. What is your working relationship with Rachel like on the set as you’re filming?
VR: It’s very easy to work with Rachel. What’s funny is that she and I met at the final callback, and we agreed that it felt like we had already met and knew each other. We stood up and her arms opened. We were far apart, but it was like we were going to hug, and I said, “It’s so nice to finally meet you.” She said, “Yes, but I feel like I already know you.” That was very comforting.
We actually have a mutual friend, and he was in her first video on YouTube, ‘F*ck Me, Ray Bradbury.’ Her choreographer and one of her dancers in the video, Katie Lee Hill, had done a workshop with me a few months prior. So Rachel and I had this connection through Katie. They had grown up together in Manhattan Beach. I think they had been chatting about me.
I’m sure Rachel got to know about me before she met me, and I got to know her before I met her. I had watched all of her videos, and it seemed like it would be easy to work with her.
Rachel has a very strong theater background, and her dream was to be an actress on Broadway. That’s what I had been working towards for the past 12 years, but to no avail; I had never been in a Broadway show. There aren’t that many roles in musical theater for Asian men.
But knowing that Rachel had gone to a New York training program (at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts) for musical theater was great. That’s a process that I know very well. So to hear that she sidetracked and instead headed to LA after graduation to become a writer inspired me.
I keep mentioning ‘Here Lies Love,’ but there were a lot of connections through that show for me. Ruthie Ann Miles was the star of the show while I was performing in it. She won the Tony Award (last year for Best Featured Actress in a Musical) for her role as of Lady Thiang in (the Lincoln Center production of) ‘The King and I’ on Broadway. She won (a Theatre World Award and a Lucille Lortel Award) for ‘Here Lies Love.’ She then made her Broadway debut in a starring role in ‘The King and I,’ and then won the Tony Award for it. Like she said in her acceptance speech, there simply aren’t enough Asian roles, and I agree with her.
So I feel as though I got lucky with this role. I also feel really blessed that Rachel and Aline specifically wrote it to be an Asian male love interest. They acknowledged at my call back that that was something that hadn’t happened quite yet.
I grew up in Daly City, which is a suburb of San Francisco. I grew up with a lot of Asian, Latino and black classmates; they were the dominant nationalities in my junior high and high school. So to see that Josh Chan was written as this character who grew up in this town that was filled with diversity, and that he still lives in that town, was something that I could relate to.
A lot of my friends from high school, who I still hang out with, still live in or near Daly City. Some of them even got jobs as teachers at my high school. So it’s a great coincide that Rachel and Aline wrote this character to be like how I grew up, and I now have the honor of playing that person on television.
SY: Since ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ is set in West Covina, why do you think it’s important that the show’s cast and characters reflect the ethnic reality of its setting? Do you feel that it helps audiences relate more to the characters and their struggles?
VR: Absolutely; I think that our show is doing something that not all other shows are doing. I (recently) read an article in which Rachel said that we’re doing something new in many different ways. Our show is a one-hour musical dramedy that’s filled with a lot of dark drama. We sing original songs, and about half our cast is from the Broadway world and the theater community.
Casting-wise, the show really comes back to these characters, as well as the location they picked. They picked West Covina, so we have to honor that demographic. We do, which is one of the strongest things about our show. We’re telling this story in this location that’s not common.
We’re also representing people who aren’t usually represented. Our Thanksgiving episode, for example, showed the first Filipino family on American television. A lot of our extras and background actors are of the minority, including Latino, Asian and black. I think it’s important for people watching television to see their community represented.
It’s a surprise to me that there isn’t more diversity on television, considering how diverse this country has become, and all of the leaps and bounds it has taken for Filipinos to take a place in the spotlight. The Filipino community is strong in L.A., as well as the Bay Area, where I’m from.
It’s about time that we’re now represented on television in a stronger light. There have been a few glimpses of it, but it’s interesting that television shows haven’t thought to feature more diversity. I think this show is becoming a breeding ground for more diversity and representation on television.
Rachel mentioned in her Golden Globe speech that our show isn’t ignoring the reality of diversity. I think the writers are really trying to represent what the world is like today. That’s what’s fun our show-we highlight all of this diversity.
We take all of these uncomfortable things that people don’t want to talk about, and bring light to them. What better way to accept the ways of the world than through comedy, and that’s exactly what ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ does. I think that’s what helps make it one of the most successful shows on television, whether people know it or not, because our numbers are a little down. But even that’s changing, because people are realizing that our show is more than a kooky title. Our show is doing something really important, and that’s one of the reasons why I’m really proud to be a part of it.
SY: Earlier in the season, Rebecca throws a housewarming party to impress Josh. The episode features you portraying four distinct versions of Josh through four different members of a boy band in a musical fantasy that Rebecca fantasizes about. What was the experience like of creating the musical sequence for the episode?
VR: It was a lot of fun. In my theater background, I have been a swing, which is a short term for swinging from role to role. In the musical theater world, they hire swings, which are usually two men and two women who understudy the ensemble. I have understudied as many as six men, which meant that I had to learn a lot of vocal parts, lines and blocking.
So when it came to playing the boy band of Joshes, and playing four different versions of my character, I had to learn how they all danced differently tot he same choreography. That experience reminded me of when I was a swing.
I openly admitted to Rachel and Aline that when I was in high school, I didn’t have a lot of dance training, because I wasn’t into it yet. Since I didn’t have a lot of time for dance, I would watch a lot of ‘N SYNC concerts (laughs), as well as the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. So that’s how I learned hip-hop. (laughs) Obviously, my tastes have broadened since then.
But since I told them that, they put two and two together. Soon after the show was picked up, Rachel told me, “You have a song where you get to do a boy band number.” I was like, “What?!?” But it turned out to be a lot of fun.
When you do a boy band number, you learn the song and choreography, and then perform it, and that’s fun. But with this number, there was a lot of clever lyrics. I thought that was a really powerful thing to add to something that initially seems cheesy.
The boy band of Joshes features licensed medical professionals who are trained in cognitive behavioral therapy. (laughs) Rebecca thinks, this boy band of Joshes is going to help fix me. That’s interesting, because we find out that she has a lot of issues with her dad leaving when she was a kid. So it’s interesting that in Rebecca’s fantasy, she would look at multiple Joshes and fantasize about them performing for her, and being the answer to her problem.
She also thinks that he’ll help fix her, because she feels that she’s broken. I think it was both sweet and sad, which Rachel seems to go for in this material that she writes. There’s a level of sadness and darkness to everything that we do on our show. I think Rachel does an amazing job of bringing the realness to these ridiculous songs and funny numbers.
We celebrate all of these musical genres, but also stay true to what’s going on in all of these characters’ lives. We show how people can be really sad, despite how happy they seem. So playing the different Joshes was definitely a fun challenge on the show.
SY: With Josh having moved back to West Covina, where he grew up, and Rebecca following him across the country to be with him, do you feel he’ll reconsider revisiting his romantic relationship with her? Or is he mainly viewing her as a friend right now?
VR: Well, there’s a theme that’s going to come up soon on the show. We (saw it this week) on episode 9, the party bus episode. There has been a lot of talk about the past between Rebecca and Josh. During the season’s first eight episodes, we saw Rebecca trying to fit into Josh’s group and become friends with them, and she has.
But there is something to be said about Rebecca trying to get something back that once made her happy in her past, instead of trying to find happiness in her present. We’re also going to see that with the other characters, particularly with Josh. He’s sticking to what he knows, which is why I think he still lives in West Covina, which is where his family also lives.
I don’t know if this is an actually term, but I know there’s a film with the name ‘Failure to Launch.’ But it applies to Josh, as he tried movie to New York, but it didn’t work out for him, so he moved back to his hometown.
I think both Josh and Rebecca have an issue of only dealing with their past, and running away from their present. They only look back, instead of what’s right in front of them. I think they’re going to hash that out together. But they definitely have their issues on their own, and the show is going to address that.
I’ve been saying on Twitter and social media that I’m really excited for the audience to see what we have in store for them. We’re going to tackle all of the challenges that the characters have, in terms of dealing with their past.
Do I hope that Rebecca and Josh figure it out? Yes, I do hope they figure something out. There are definitely things that they’re not willing to deal with right away. But they have an ability to see something in each other that the other can’t see within themselves. That’s the reason why this show is happening.
Josh can’t see that Rebecca is in love with him. She can’t see that this pursuit isn’t going to be an easy one, but she’s going to keep trying it. She’s in love with the idea that Josh is the love of her life.
But Josh is oblivious to that, as he’s looking at other things. He doesn’t even see Rebecca as that kind of person. But I think he gives her more credit, and she gives him more credit, than they give themselves. So there’s that disconnect that we’re bridging as the episodes air. So I think they will figure it out, but it’s not going to be easy, because people are complicated.
Written by: Karen Benardello