[2] His father, James "Jim" Rodriguez, is of Mexican descent, and his mother, Deborah Collins, is of English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry.

In a July 2020 interview, Rodriguez explained the decision was mainly driven by producers and casting directors feeling his appearance clashed with his Latino family name.

In order to book his first job, he legally changed his middle name, David, to Roday (from an Anton Chekhov play), and omitted Rodriguez from his screen name.

[6] Rodriguez started his acting career starring in various theatrical productions, including Three Sisters, A Respectable Wedding, and Severity's Mistress.

He took on leading roles in Sexual Perversity in Chicago and Extinction which he produced with his theatre company Red Dog Squadron.

Behind the scenes, he and writing partners Todd Harthan and James DeMonaco wrote the screenplay for the 2006 film Skinwalkers.

He co-wrote (once again with Todd Harthan) and directed his second film Treehouse as part of Hulu's monthly horror movie anthology Into The Dark, which aired in March 2019.

In 2023, Rodriguez produced the world premiere of Laurence Davis's play Masters of Puppets for the Legacy Theatre in Branford, Connecticut.

The play starred Amanda Detmer, Kurt Fuller, Dana Ashbrook, and The Resident's Michael Hogan.

Rodriguez is the co-artistic director of Red Dog Squadron, a non-profit Los Angeles theater company he co-founded with Brad Raider.