 He was discovered by playwright and filmmaker Román Chalbaud at a drama camp.Chalbaud later cast him in his 1974 production "Boves, el urogallo", a Radio Caracas Television drama starring Rodríguez and based on the novel of the same name by Francisco Herrera Luque.In 1979 Rodríguez gained prominence in "Estefanía", where he played the role of disgusting villain Pedro Escobar; a fictional character based on Pedro Estrada, notorious symbol of human rights abuse in Venezuela during the government of Marcos Pérez Jiménez.