Ramon Rodriguez Profile

Hero Complex profiles Ramon Rodriguez who co-starred in Transformers 2 as Leo Ponce de Leon Spitz and in The Taking of Pelham 123. The article suggests that Michael Bay likes Sam's sidekick enough that he could have a larger role in Transformers 3 (but if he did I can't find that information in any of the quoted comments from Bay).

The actor started with a sports-management degree from New York University which led to working for the PR department of the NY Knicks were he won a Nike basketball competition (by biting a pen while the ball spun on the tip), and joined the Nike freestyle team for a tour of Asia and Europe. This led to acting with by guesting for two episodes on Rescue Me, followed by the Wire, then a role in Bella and finally being cast in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

"I've worked with big stars, people like Will Smith, Sean Connery and Bruce Willis, but casting is a weird thing, it takes you places you don’t expect," Bay said. "We went looking for a sidekick in this movie, Shia’s sidekick, and we find this new kid who really pops on screen. I think he’s going to have a real bright career. It’s great to work with big stars, but it’s always fun to discover people."

"He’s got a street edge and a realness to him," said the director, whose past films include "The Rock" and "Bad Boys.” "He’s a New York kid with a street feel to him. He adapted to the actors very well, which isn’t always easy in a big movie, a sequel, where a lot of the cast chemistry has been set already. He’s funny, charming, comes off cool and accessible.”