Vincent Rodriguez III

Acting takes a lot of practice, but so does auditioning.

It's a bummer interracial love is still such a big deal. To me, it's quite normal. I grew up seeing couples that were interracial. Who cares if it's a black guy and white girl, or an Asian guy and white girl, etc.? Odds are, every combo exists out there somewhere so why not put it on the screen? Shouldn't art imitate life?

I felt like I wasn't considered for minority or Caucasian male lead roles. There aren't really a lot of roles written for me, and I mean me and who I am in real life.

Gene Kelly has meant so much to me through the years. I used to dance in my living room in socks and a tee-shirt, no idea what I was doing, but wanting to dance like Gene.

I grew up accepting that my nationality was not depicted on TV or film. To be honest, it was something I didn't acknowledge as a kid. But once I realized my love for acting and the possibility of pursuing a career in it, I quickly noticed the absence of Asians in general and thought, 'Well, I'm gonna try to change that.'

We need to encourage the presence of more Asian writers and executive producers so they can fight for normalizing the casting of Asians in traditional American roles.

I think the best thing you can do for an audition is to just do your work, be creative. It's OK to be spontaneous.

I am ambitious, and I'm excited for my career to grow, and I do want to represent the Asian community and the Filipino community.

Trust your instincts, and the best way to trust them is to practice them.

I was raised in a dominantly Filipino family. I didn't know I was 'mixed' until I got older and started asking questions about my grandparents, the origins of our middle and last names. We were kind of textbook Pinoys. A lot of the Filipino stereotypes that were joked about by me and my friends rang very true with my family.

Between acting jobs, I'd go visit my hometown and college town to see family and friends. But I would also teach acting, dance, singing, and audition techniques in high schools and colleges. I take great pride in all the survival jobs I worked, because I learned so much from them.

It's the best gift any teacher could possibly get, to go back to where you came from and offer knowledge and camaraderie.