More than meets the eye
Tall, dark, handsome and charismatic are words that easily describe Tom Rodriguez. The Fil-Am is a charmer alright with his looks and ability to ignite a conversation, but is also talented in more ways than one.
Tom has proven his mettle as an actor, most notably with his portrayal in the controversial telenovela “My Husband’s Lover.”
He also garnered positive reviews for playing the title role in Atlantis Productions’ “Aladdin” in 2012.
Tom makes a fine host as proven in previous hosting commitments and he can also sing, as noted in his stellar performance in the aforementioned musical play, recording projects, and as a former member of a boyband.
Tom is celebrated as an entertainer, but rarely as a visual artist. He can do a mean illustration of a fictional comic book-worthy character or a real-life person.
He was already a self-taught artist by the time he took up Digital Animation in college while still residing in the United States.
Although successful with consecutive acting projects, the 29-year-old admits that should he ever decide to shift to an alternative career, it would definitely involve digital arts.
“I just invested in equipment. I’ve been trying to bring a process here for three years now—a different way of doing post-production and animation using real-time renderers and no one seemed to wanna do it. So I said, ‘Ako na lang, I’ll do it,’ ” Tom said.
“I’ll be putting up my own fully animation production company.”
Tom also said that so far, he’s been very happy with his decision to transfer to a different network. He was still cast as the father of Aiza Seguerra’s son in the ABS-CBN daytime soap “Be Careful With My Heart” when he decided to accept GMA’s offer to topbill “My Husband’s Lover.”
“They’ve been consistently giving me steady work, competent work that forces me to get out of my comfort zone.”
After “My Husband’s Lover,” Tom also worked in a series of shows for his new mother studio, from playing Sergio in “Marimar,” to hosting shows like “Celebrity Bluff” and “Don’t Lose the Money” and recently, as part of the cast of “Mulawin” and “Someone to Watch Over Me.”
He and girlfriend Carla Abellana are working together on the upcoming show, “I Heart Davao,” which will premiere Monday.
“I’m glad that they put us back together again after a few years. As much as I love my job, it can
get exhausting. There’s no better way to re-energize than to be working with someone that you just enjoy working with. It doesn’t hurt that she’s just a breath of fresh air to my eyes,” Tom said.
Tom recently posted a photo of him and Carla together, accompanied by a birthday greeting for the actress on Instagram, calling her “the most radiant soul I know who never ceases to inspire, amaze and endow me with a sense of awe and wonder…to MY Wonder Woman” and “my rock, and my heart.”
This post was followed by another tribute a few days after, this time to his father, Bill Mott, who passed away in March. Tom confessed that his father’s passing was the toughest his family has gone through.
“The best thing I can do for Dad is be the best that I can be. He helped shape the person that I am now. I’ll be forever grateful for him,” Tom said.