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Guillermo Rodriguez is well known for his time spent acting as Jimmy Kimmel’s sidekick on the late night show Jimmy Kimmel Live! and continuing as the character of Jimmy Kimmel’s security guard.
The 46-year-old was born in Mexico on January 27, 1971. He’s known for being a Mexican-American talk show personality. He’s been a United States citizen for a little over 2 years.
According to the staff biography on ABC’s website, Rodriguez loves watching soccer, Mexican food, Italian food and his 2 chihuahuas that are named Pepe and Paco.
Here’s what you need to know about Guillermo Rodriguez:
1. Rodriguez Started Out as a Parking Lot Security Guard
Guillermo Rodriguez began his career at Jimmy Kimmel Live! as a parking lot security guard, but he’s been a show correspondent since then, with Jimmy pulling him in to do different segments and interviews on a regular basis.
The task of performing all those tasks makes it hard for Rodriguez to continue working security in the parking lot. While he’s still in character as that parking lot security guard, he does not do much security now.
Standing at 5’4″, it’s hard to see Rodriguez working security at any place. When he interviews basketball players and models, he’s easily dwarfed by them. In an NBA media day segment, he stands on a step stool to make himself look taller.
2. His Net Worth is About $2 Million
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Guillermo Rodriguez is worth about $2 million. His net worth has been gained through presenting on different segments of Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show.
Rodriguez has been working on Jimmy Kimmel Live! as a security guard since the show started in 2003 and has been a correspondent on the show since then.
The actor and comedian supplements his time at Kimmel’s show with movie and festival appearances including The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival in 2016.
3. He Has Been a U.S. Citizen Since 2005
Rodriguez was born in Mexico in 1972. He became a U.S. citizen in 2005 after 2 years of working at with Jimmy Kimmel.
Before working at Jimmy Kimmel Live! he says he worked as a hotel waiter and a parking lot guard. He had no vacation time and worked from around 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and then from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. almost daily. Now that he’s a contract worker, he has some thoughts on the benefits of that.
“I get paid no matter what, plus like 8 weeks off a year. I never had heard of a hiatus before. Wow!” he said to Parade Magazine.
4. He Goes to Media Day at the NBA Finals Every Year
Jimmy Kimmel Live! sends sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez to media day at the NBA finals for the last 6 years. He’s been able to interview star athletes like Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, but he’s never scored an interview with LeBron James.
At the 2017 NBA Finals Media Day, Rodriguez turned the tables on LeBron. He told every player that he interviewed to tell LeBron that he wasn’t talking to him, hoping that LeBron would decide to come and talk to him.
The above video shows Guillermo yelling “hey LeBron, I’m not talking to you!” while LeBron is on the court and eventually flashes back to previous media days where he’s tried to get LeBron to talk to him with no luck.
5. He is Most Well Known For His “Hollywood Round Up”
Segment
Rodriguez does many different types of skits now, but when he started out at the late night show, he was mostly known for his “Hollywood Roundup” segment. The most recent segment, the “MUCHO” Oscar’s edition pokes fun at the Oscar’s red carpet interviews and Hollywood interviews in general.
He also does interviews for Kimmel at the Oscar’s and things like NBA media day. In an interview with the Surge, he talks about how he still gets nervous before his interviews with celebrities, citing a particular interview with Robert De Niro:
Oh my God, one of the most nervous times was when I had to interview Robert De Niro. We were at his hotel waiting to do the interview and my hands were sweating and I was just like, oh man, it’s De Niro from so many great movies. Finally, he got there and he talked to the director of the piece and the director introduced us. Then, De Niro said, ‘I know Guillermo and I’m familiar with his job.’ I couldn’t believe it.
He said he gets very excited and loves his job because he gets to talk to some of the most beautiful women in the world on a regular basis.
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Guillermo Rodriguez, Jimmy Kimmel’s Sidekick: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know