Tremendous has a mission to help spotlight marginalized voices in media and entertainment from AAPI and LGBTQ+ to other multi-cultural audiences and beyond. In the dynamic landscape of media and entertainment, the company stand’s as a beacon of authenticity, passionately advocating for truthful representation on and off the screen.
They resonate with the vibrant and diverse nuances of the AAPI community because they are part of it. Most recently, they expanded their communications and marketing firm to now represent clients and is honored to welcome their first client Vincent Rodriguez III!
“Vincent represents the kind of talent we are committed to championing: boundary breaking, authentic, and unapologetically himself. Having him as our first client sets the tone for this division. Our focus is on elevating voices that challenge stereotypes, tell diverse stories, and expand how audiences see representation in entertainment. We are focused on creating visibility opportunities that reflect Vincent’s values of storytelling, advocacy, and representation. That means engaging him in thought leadership spaces, strengthening his presence in outlets and platforms that matter to AAPI and LGBTQ+ communities, and exploring collaborations with brands and cultural organizations that share his vision. While specifics are still developing, our north star is clear: position the talent we champion at the intersection of entertainment and social impact, where their voices can drive both cultural conversation and meaningful change. The traditional model often treats talent like commodities, cycling them through promotion without care for the narrative or the cultural impact. Tremendous is building something different. We bring together our proven track record in film and entertainment publicity with a cultural lens that ensures stories are not just pitched but shaped to resonate authentically. This branch is about helping talent grow their careers while empowering them to use their voice for representation and change. Our goal is to be the agency that brands, studios, and audiences turn to for cultural intelligence and entertainment strategy in equal measure.” -Jeremiah Abraham (CEO and Founder of Tremendous)
We were recently given the opportunity to sit down with Rodriguez to talk about this move and reflect on his career.
The Nerds Of Color: What attracted you to Tremendous and made you decide to be their first publicity client? What about their vision or approach resonated with you?
Vincent: I was first introduced to Tremendous when I thought they were just a podcast when I was interviewed a few years back when I was filming With Love for Prime Video. It wasn’t until just a few months ago that my Manager and COO of my production company, Don Mike Hodreal Mendoza, told me that Tremendous is now also a Publicity firm for individual talent. It turned out that our common colleague, Jeremiah Abraham (who is also Don Mike’s fellow Co-Producer for the Broadway Filipino musical Here Lies Love) is the CEO with Ashley Rapuano, Publicity Manager, who was one of the two who interviewed me on the podcast.
Reuniting with familiar faces and fellow Filipino colleagues felt like the right move for me personally as a proud and active member of the AAPI community and an artist still pursuing entertainment. I was sold once I knew they understood and shared my vision: continuing to further develop and expand my career with the intention of a global impact in representation and advocacy worldwide. Their support, enthusiasm and respect of my brand is unwavering and a breath of fresh air for me. I’m grateful to have a Publicity firm that is Filipino based and has PR ties in the United States and Manila, Philippines.
As someone who has been vocal about diversity, equity, inclusion, and representation (especially within the Filipino/Asian American and LGBTQIA+ communities), do you see this new partnership enabling you to amplify that advocacy more widely?
Vincent: Absolutely! One of my favorite things about Tremendous is the diversity in staff. They are well aware of their own power to amplify and advocate for underrepresented communities like the ones I belong to, so I’m very grateful for their interest in working with me. Since some of my personal major revelations during the pandemic, I knew that whatever I would next manifest in my career and in my life, would involve partnering with people and companies that also believes in the positive impact of DEI and representation on the industry and society. I’ve often used the hashtag #togetherwearestronger for this very reason. Compassion, creativity and collaboration are key to our ability to thrive together.
As a Filipino American actor, how has your heritage influenced your artistic journey?
Vincent: It wasn’t until booking the series regular role of Josh Chan on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend that it became blatantly obvious to me that my 11 years of unwavering pursuit, hard work and perseverance in New York City trying to be a Broadway actor in musicals was not exclusively meant for the stages of NYC. Since I first started doing musicals professionally in 2003, I realized that I had always wanted to be a part of representing Filipinos on stages, and eventually TV and Movie screens, all over the world. Unless the story specifically required me to play a different ethnicity, all the characters I created for myself, especially when I was in the ensemble, were Filipino. I guess I’ve been a little obsessed with bringing my heritage along with me in my work and what connection I had to it growing up in Daly City, CA (a suburb of San Francisco) as a Filipino American.
You’ve worked on stage and TV — do you have a preference between the two? Why?
Vincent: I’ll never get tired of that thrill of doing a live stage show, whether it’s a musical, doing a live show with my cast of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, but especially doing my solo Cabaret show. There’s just nothing that compares to performing live that TV, film or voiceover work, can’t capture. While I still love stage performing, I’ve been doing predominantly TV, film, and voiceover since I moved to LA back in 2015 to film what became four seasons of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. However, on the flip side, there is something about the TV, film, and voiceover that captivates me and consistently sparks my curiosity in new ways. Of course the process in both Stage and TV have their similarities, but it’s their differences I find fascinating. I continue to use this energy to fuel my drive now to tell my own stories; writing, producing, developing and directing, and my new found passion for my work as a motivational speaker and a teacher who also focuses on the self-empowering benefits of neuroscience and mental health.
Is there a dream role, director, or project you’d love to work on next?
Vincent: I think I have two. One for Stage and one for TV film:
For Stage, I wanna play a Gene Kelly role, or simply a triple threat leading man character that tap dances. Right now that ideal role is Bobby Child in the musical Crazy For You, specifically using the original choreography by Susan Stroman, one of my all-time favorite revolutionary choreographers.
For TV/Film… this would blow my mind if this happened, so I’m putting out into the universe…
I would absolutely love getting to play a lead in a live-action fighting dramedy with all the great characters, emotional arch’s, story substance & especially FIGHT SEQUENCES… which of course are some of the stellar qualities from one of my favorite movies of all time, Everything Everywhere All At Once, directed and written by the Daniels. Though specifically, I really want to work with Daniel Kwan (one of the Daniels) who, Iike me, has ADHD, which he infused into both the story of EEAAO and it’s lead character played by Michelle Yeoh. I’ve been suffering since pandemic from my intense symptoms of ADHD as well as my other neurodivergent disorders, giftedness & hyper-sensitivity, so all those ADHD-inspired aspects of the film shook me to the core emotionally, continues to inspire me, and remind me that I’m not alone in those neurological struggles. This dream movie or TV show role would also have to include A24, the producers behind EEAAO. I specifically earned two black belts in Shotokan and Tae Kwon Do and trained extensively in Filipino martial arts (stick fighting) as well as various weapons like Bo staff, nunchucks & sword… all before graduating high school, for a very specific reason… To play an action hero in a movie.
What advice would you give to young Filipino or Asian American artists who want to pursue careers in acting?
Vincent: I would tell them the same thing that my conservatory director told my class and I the first day of school at the Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts back in 2001: “If you can think of anything else to do as a job or career, other than acting, then you should [leave this room now and] go do that,” and while I know that can sound a bit startling and an extreme joke to make for young actors, but since I heard that I’ve always kept the idea in the back of my mind. Show business is (in my opinion and in many others) the hardest, most difficult, cutthroat, emotionally draining, unfair, unstable, and uncertain business you could ever choose to be a part of.
So to all you young Filipino and Asian American artists who really want to pursue a career and acting…
“Make sure that if you pursue it, you do it because you cannot, and do not, want to do anything else. You will frequently hit those walls of self doubt and emotional distress. So it’s imperative that your “why” (your purpose) for choosing this career as an artist, must be one that speaks from a deep yearning for you have inside that you cannot dare hold in unexpressed.
I am prone to think that artists, whether you’re an actor, singer, dancer, illustrator, designer, creative, etc… you are part of a community of people who have something in them they want and need to say, or that they absolutely HAVE to share. If we (artists) didn’t feel this unwavering itch — this drive to unleash our creativity and enthusiasm for collaboration — then we would unfortunately suffer even more so from all the challenges that show business is known to constantly present to you. So I’d urge you to make sure you love it and that it brings out who you want to be in the world. Make sure it sparks this joy from within that you can’t help but share. Shine your unique light so brightly, knowing that if you do, others will be inspired to do the same. As an artist, I really do believe you have the power (and have had the power) to change the world. And I warmly encourage you to use it.”
You can learn more about Tremendous here: https://www.tremendouspr.com/ and follow them on social media @tremendous_comm
