This month, Paul Rodriguez is bringing a Latino twist to "The Odd Couple" on stage in San Diego, California. The comedian and actor is facing a major challenge with his first theatrical role but hopes it is one that will help Latinos be better recognized in mainstream media.

Rodriguez is currently playing Oscar Madison at the Horton Plaza's Lycecum Theatre in San Diego. Director William Virchis also cast a Latino, Mike Gomez, opposite Rodriguez.

"These two actors will bring their own salsa to the roles," Virchis told U-T San Diego in August.

Ahead of his appearance on NUVOtv's "Mario Lopez: One on One" on Thursday, Rodriguez answered some exclusive questions for Latin Post.

The 59-year-old Mexican comedian shared that "The Odd Couple" will be the ultimate test of his acting abilities.

"... the rewards are yet to come," he said. "The work is hard, and I'll find out at the end of this run if I can act or not. This is something you don't really know until you do theater."

Rodriguez has tested his acting chops in various films including "Without Men" with Eva Longoria and Christian Slater, "Ali" and Disney's "Beverley Hills Chihuahua."

Despite his impressive resume, however, Rodriguez says there are not enough roles for Latinos these days.

"Well right now the pickings are so slim for Latino actors that any role would be a [good] role ..." he said.

Indeed Latinos have been underrepresented in mainstream media considering their population in the United States. In a study released by the University of Southern California in August, Hispanic actors were found to play just 4.9 percent of over 25,000 characters with at least one line in all of the top-grossing films from 2007-2013. (Hispanics represent 16.3 of the U.S. population and 25 percent of movie ticket sales.)

"...not so much for me, but I hope in the next 10 years or 20 -- whatever God gives me -- I hope I live long enough to see Hispanics as a common presence, or at least as numerous as African Americans, on television," Rodriguez said. "They love our stories, but they don't love us in it, you know."

On Thursday's episode of "Mario Lopez: One on One," Rodriguez will discuss his move to theater and his upcoming biographical NUVOtv special, "For the Record."

The interview is not the first time Rodriguez has worked with Lopez. In fact, Rodriguez told OC Weekly that Lopez's family is planning to see "The Odd Couple."

" ... the first time I met Mario he was eight years old," he said. "He was on a short-lived TV series I was on many years ago called 'a.k.a. Pablo' and he played one of my nephews. He was a sharp and talented kid then, and I told him many times that if I knew he was going to be a big and talented star, I would have treated him better. He's such a sweet kid and he was asking me things [during the interview] that he already knew the answers to so he kept me on my toes there."

Rodriguez's run on "The Odd Couple" began on Sept. 17 and ends on Sept. 28. His interview with Lopez airs on NUVOtv on Sept. 18 at 10 p.m.

The comedian will also continue his comedy tour this month:

Sept. 19: SAP Center / San Jose, CA

Nov. 1: Capitol Theater / Yakima, WA

Nov. 15: Isle Casino Hotel / Bettendorf, IA

Dec. 31: Tower Theater / Fresno, CA

March 21: Union Colony Civic Center / Greeley, CO

Watch Latin Post's exclusive Rodriguez interview below:

Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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