Began his acting career at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago, where he appeared in more than a dozen plays, including "To Kill a Mockingbird", "Twelve Angry Men", "The Crucible", "A Midsummers Night's Dream" and "The Lottery." Is of Puerto Rican descent. Father of Giancarlo Rodriguez, who plays his son on "Six Feet Under" (2001). He and his wife Elsie were high school sweethearts.
