Oz Rodriguez
| Oz Rodriguez | |
|---|---|
| Born | Osmany Rodriguez Cuba |
| 💼 Occupation | Television director, film director, writer, producer |
| 📆 Years active | 2011–present |
| Known for | Saturday Night Live (Digital Shorts / Film Unit) Creating Saturday Night Live Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music |
| 🏅 Awards | Primetime Emmy Award (2019, 2025) |
Osmany "Oz" Rodriguez is a Cuban-born Dominican-American television and film director, producer, and writer. He is best known for his extensive work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live (SNL), where he directed numerous commercial parodies, music videos, and digital shorts. Rodriguez served as the head of the show's film unit and won a Primetime Emmy Award for creating the behind-the-scenes documentary series Creating Saturday Night Live. He has also directed feature films including Vampires vs. the Bronx (2020) and Miguel Wants to Fight (2023).
Early life
Rodriguez was born in Cuba and relocated to the Dominican Republic with his family when he was four months old. He grew up in Santo Domingo, where his mother's love of cinema inspired his interest in filmmaking. He later moved to the United States to study film and graduated from The Los Angeles Film School.
Career
Early work and Funny or Die
Rodriguez began his comedy directing career creating short-form videos for platforms like Funny or Die and SuperDeluxe. He frequently collaborated with Matt Villines as part of the directing duo "Matt & Oz." Together, they directed segments for Funny or Die Presents on HBO, which earned Rodriguez an ALMA Award nomination in 2011.
Saturday Night Live
In 2012, Rodriguez and Villines were hired by Saturday Night Live for Season 38. Operating as "Matt & Oz," they directed some of the show's most popular pre-taped sketches and Digital Shorts. Following Villines' passing from cancer in 2016, Rodriguez continued as a solo director and was elevated to head of the SNL Film Unit, a role he maintained until Season 45 (2020). During his tenure, he directed iconic sketches, including the "Totino's Pizza Rolls" commercial parodies starring Larry David and Kristen Stewart, and the 2016 election parodies featuring Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon.
Rodriguez created, produced, and directed Creating Saturday Night Live, a short-form, behind-the-scenes nonfiction series documenting the rapid production schedule of the show's design, makeup, and visual effects teams. The series earned him three consecutive Primetime Emmy nominations, resulting in a win for Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series in 2019.
In 2025, Rodriguez co-directed and edited the NBC documentary film Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music alongside Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, which earned him two additional Primetime Emmy Awards.
Film and television expansion
In 2020, Rodriguez signed an exclusive, multi-year producing deal with Universal Television. He made his feature directorial debut the same year with the comedy-horror film Vampires vs. the Bronx, which he also co-wrote for Netflix.
His television directing credits include directing and executive producing all episodes of That Damn Michael Che for HBO Max, and directing episodes of A.P. Bio, Bupkis, The Last Man on Earth, Shrill, Detroiters, and the pilot for Neon. In 2023, his second feature film, Miguel Wants to Fight, was released on Hulu.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
| 2016 | Brother Nature | Yes | No | Co-directed with Matt Villines |
| 2020 | Vampires vs. the Bronx | Yes | Yes | |
| 2023 | Miguel Wants to Fight | Yes | No | Also producer |
| 2025 | Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music | Yes | No | Documentary; co-directed with Questlove |
Television
| Year | Title | Notes | |||
| 2012–2020 | Saturday Night Live | Segment director (Film Unit) | 2016–2019 | Creating Saturday Night Live | Creator, director, and co-executive producer |
| 2018–2021 | A.P. Bio | Directed 4 episodes; co-executive producer | |||
| 2021–2022 | That Damn Michael Che | Directed all 12 episodes; executive producer | |||
| 2023 | Bupkis | Directed 3 episodes | |||
| 2023 | Neon | Directed 2 episodes (including pilot) |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | ALMA Awards | Outstanding Director of a Television Series | Funny or Die Presents | Nominated |
| 2017 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series | Creating Saturday Night Live | Nominated |
| 2018 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Short Form Variety Series | Creating Saturday Night Live | Nominated |
| 2019 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series | Creating Saturday Night Live | Won |
| 2025 | Gotham TV Awards | Outstanding Original Film, Broadcast, or Streaming | Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music | Nominated |
| 2025 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program | Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music | Won |
| 2025 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program | Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music | Won |
References
Category:Living people Category:American television directors Category:American film directors Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Dominican Republic emigrants to the United States Category:Los Angeles Film School alumni
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