Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Season 1 Vuzu AMP (*103) 20:00 Vincent Rodriguez plays Josh Chan, the object of desire for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s (2015-current) Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom). Josh is a perfectly nice, ordinary dude – not exactly the kind of person you’d expect to inspire Rachel’s embarrassing levels of obsession. Not that the show’s really about him. “Josh is an idea, following a time when you were happy. That’s what is happening here,” explains Vincent. So who is Vince?

Josh was originally described as 1

“an Asian Bro” but that changed to “Filipino-American” to reflect Vincent’s heritage after he was cast. His surname also changed from Chang to Chan.

Josh is Vincent’s TV breakout role 2

but he’s got 12 years of experience in musical theatre to his name. For his audition, he played guitar and rapped 2Pac’s 2002 song Thug Mansion.

The 30-something-year-old “ugly3

cried” when he got the call to tell him that he’d been cast… just as he was about to go on stage for a show.

Performance-crazy Vince doesn’t 4

just act dance and sing. “My Special Skills [on my résumé] is really long and vast. I can play multiple instruments [piano, clarinet, drums], I love acapella, I love barbershop, I love magic,” he says.

He credits his three big sisters (who 5

were all born in Manila, while he was born in San Francisco) for his career path. “My sisters are all smart, musically talented and into theatre. I had really powerful role models growing up.” He’s actually Vincent Rodriguez III – his late dad and granddad were both Vincents.

Vincent admits that he’s more like 6

Josh than not. “There’s such a crazy parallel between my character and who I am. From Josh’s personality, his family and friends and how he grew up – it’s kind of scary.” NB! See more on p78.