Memories From The Set: Nicholas Gonzalez
Nicholas Gonzalez Resurrection Blvd. Alex Santiago
RESURRECTION BLVD.
Gonzalez played pre-med dropout-turned-boxer Alex Santiago on the Showtime drama. It not only marked his first series-regular gig, but his first leading role. "I did the pilot in 1999, and that changed everything for me," he says. "I was there every day, even when I wasn't working... It was training ground. I was surrounded by far better actors who'd been doing it for far longer," including TV dad Tony Plana. "It was really an educational experience for me [to see] how he held himself in the world and how he held himself on the stage. I learned a lot from Elizabeth Peña, too." It ran for a total of three seasons, and marked Gonzalez's most successful series before he landed The Good Doctor. The cast, he says, remains like family. "I didn't have family out here [when I moved to Los Angeles], and they brought me in."
Nicholas Gonzalez That '70s Show Thomas
THAT '70s SHOW
A one-episode stint was all Gonzalez needed to make friends for life. He was brought in as Thomas, a foreign exchange student who had a much easier time acclimating than Wilmer Vladerrama's Fez. "To this day, when Wilmer and I see each other, we'll break into character," Gonzalez says. "He'll look up at the sky and shake his fist and say, 'Thomas!'" Gonzalez also recalls the parties the cast would throw on tape night. "They had a big ol' craps table. I think it even became featured in a Punk'd episode where Seth Green was fake-busted during one of those games."
Nicholas Gonzalez Law & Order SVU Mike Sandoval
LAW & ORDER: SVU
Gonzalez's two-episode arc as Det. Mike Sandoval was a test run for a potential series-regular gig. "Mariska [Hargitay] and Chris [Meloni] were working every single day, so they were bringing someone else in to spread story," he recalls. "They said, 'Here's the thing: It has to be Dick Wolf's idea. He doesn't feel like anything needs to be changed and he doesn't really like being told, so we have to show him.' So their idea was to put me in a couple of episodes," where he was partnered with Ice-T's Det. Fin. "Ice was the nicest guy you can imagine, he just welcomed me onto that set," Gonzalez recalls. Unfortunately, "[Wolf] just didn't really want to add anybody," so Sandoval disappeared.
Nicholas Gonzalez Mental Arturo Suarez
MENTAL
Gonzalez's next series-regular gig came via the short-lived medical drama, on which he played first-year resident Arturo Suarez. The show took place in Los Angeles, but was filmed in Bogotá, Colombia. "We spent a year shooting with a green crew with very few heads of departments from the U.S.," he recalls. "Everybody was worried about security and whatnot, but we were fine... Being down there was pretty amazing." On that project, Gonzalez made a friend for life in actor Juan Pablo Raba, who was originally cast on the show, then replaced by fellow up-and-comer Edwin Hodge. "Those two later went on to work on SIX together... It's funny the way this business works."
Nicholas Gonzalez The O.C. D.J.
THE O.C.
Gonzalez's stint on the teen drama "started off before even getting on set," he recalls. He was paraded on a mall tour across Texas with fellow Season 2 newbies Olivia Wilde, Michael Cassidy and Shannon Lucio, where they appeared in front of "thousands of kids" before their characters had even been introduced. He ultimately appeared in six episodes as Julie Cooper's yard boy. "D.J. was an interesting, underwritten character," Gonzalez says. "I think they were trying to say something [with him]. I remember there was a scene where the mom says, 'I'll have you deported,' and then the camera cuts to me and I say, 'I was born in Pacoima.' So it played on that joke, but it was also kind of like being the butt of the joke a little bit. It wasn't my most fond memory." Nevertheless, Gonzalez mostly enjoyed his time on set. "We had some good times... but I don't know if it was a particularly good time for Mischa Barton."
Nicholas Gonzalez Two and a Half Men Master Baker
TWO AND A HALF MEN
Blink and you might have missed Gonzalez's Season 9 cameo as a softcore porn star in Cinnamon's Buns, opposite Courtney Thorne-Smith's Lyndsey. So, how'd he wind up cast as, um, The Master Baker? "That was me being a good sport and not knowing how to say no," Gonzalez admits. "Ashton Kutcher is a friend of mine, and he said, 'What are you doing here? Why are you doing this?' [Laughs] And I said, 'I don't know.'"
Nicholas Gonzalez Undressed Andy
UNDRESSED
Gonzalez first garnered attention for his six-episode stint on the MTV anthology series about relationships among young adults in Los Angeles. He played Andy, a gay man who was troubled to find straight porn tucked under his boyfriend's mattress. "As corny as things could sometimes be on that show, I think we were dealing with subjects that before hadn't been handled with this much sensitivity," Gonzalez says. "Out of it came all these discussions of identity." During his time on the show, Gonzalez received a letter from a young man that has stuck with him to this day. "The gist was, 'I've always hated myself, and I always thought there was something wrong with me, and it wasn't until I saw Andy on my TV that I felt good about myself and I felt that I was someone who deserved love and respect, and I want to thank you for that.'"
Sleepy Hollow Nicolas Gonzalez Luke Morales
SLEEPY HOLLOW
"It was a fun role that never really became anything," Gonzalez says of his six-episode stint as Det. Luke Morales, which came to an abrupt end after his character was possessed by a demon. "I mean, he didn't die, he just got knocked out... That was a weird end." Be that as it may, Gonzalez says he has nothing but pleasant memories of his time on the Wilmington, N.C.-based production. He was especially fond of leading man Tom Mison. "He is one of the nicest guys you're ever going to meet. He was so charming and talented. He made that gig so wonderful to be a part of."
Nicholas Gonzalez Orlando Lagos Being Mary Jane
BEING MARY JANE
Gonzalez came on board as baseball player Orlando Lagos during the fourth and final season of the Atlanta-set BET drama. Series star Lisa Vidal, "who I absolutely adore, came to me and said, 'We've got this part for you,'" Gonzalez recalls. "'He's a professional baseball player who is supposed to be my lover. I know you, my husband knows you, and I'm comfortable with you. What do you think about this?'" Gonzalez remembers being in a "very graphic, very explicit sexual position" in one scene with Vidal's Kara Lynch, but says they laughed their way through it. He'll be back for the previously announced wrap-up movie, which finally has an airdate: Tuesday, April 16.
Nicholas Gonzalez Dominick How to Get Away With Murder
HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER
Gonzalez was already good friends with series co-star Charlie Weber before he got cast as Dominick on the #TGIT drama. ("We had been to each other's weddings," Gonzalez points out.) Then he went in and had a "lovely chemistry read" with Karla Souza, which ultimately secured him the part. "It was fun going to work with that group," he says. "It just very quickly changed when I got The Good Doctor, because suddenly I wasn't available to be part of this storyline that was kind of planned out." And so, Weber's Frank went and snapped Dominick's neck, before leaving his corpse in a scrap yard.
Nicholas Gonzalez Mateo Off the Map
OFF THE MAP
Though it wasn't what ultimately got him the part of Mateo, a previous guest spot on Grey's Anatomy certainly "didn't hurt," Gonzalez says. "It was absolute heaven for me. We shot in Oahu, there and back for five months. I was heavy into CrossFit at the time and laying out on the beach every day... I mean, I could get used to that. [Laughs] It was the one show that Shonda Rhimes did that wasn't a hit, but Rachelle Lefevre and I became good friends."
Nicholas Gonzalez Detective Marco Furey Pretty Little Liars
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS
Gonzalez was very confused when he was brought in during the final season as Det. Marco Furey. "I still have no idea what was going on," he says with a laugh. "It helped that I was a detective who wasn't supposed to know, but as my character started to know things, it got really confusing... and when you'd ask some of the actors, 'Hey, what's going on here,' they'd be like, 'I don't even know.' I used to find that so funny." Nevertheless, Gonzalez says he had a great time working opposite "professional badass" Troian Bellisario, and says the rabid PLL fans have continued to support him on The Good Doctor.
Nicholas Gonzalez Dante Ramon The Flash
THE FLASH
Getting to play Cisco's brother Dante was a dream role for Gonzalez, who grew up collecting comic books. "My brother used to collect The Flash and I was into Spider-Man, but I've always been into comics, and I just think they did such a good job [adapting] this one," he says. "The Ramon Brothers — or the Ramons, as we called them — was a fun dynamic and people liked watching them." His character died off screen, but as far as Gonzalez is concerned, he could still be alive... on another Earth. "I'd love to go back to that. I had a really good time filming and just love the connection that Carlos Valdes and I have."
Nicholas Gonzalez Dr. Neil Melendez The Good Doctor
THE GOOD DOCTOR
Gonzalez says he is overwhelmed with gratitude when asked about his current gig as cardiothoracic surgeon Neil Melendez. "I'm constantly overwhelmed with this feeling," he says. "I stop and I look around at the crew, I look at the other actors... and say, 'Holy s—t. This is exactly what I've wanted for so long...' I feel at home here. I feel like I can create, I can take chances... We've created a family here of people who actually care about what we're doing." And it's a good thing he feels that way. Just hours before the interview, the ABC medical drama was picked up for Season 3.
Jane the Virgin Nicholas Gonzalez Marco
JANE THE VIRGIN
Before he was ultimately cast for a three-episode stint as Xo's romantic interest, Gonzalez was in the running for a much more substantial role. "I had originally tested for Rafael," he reveals. That role went to Justin Baldoni, and Gonzalez would eventually be cast as Marco. "Andrea Navedo I love, she's such a sweetheart... but there just wasn't a lot to the character because he was the perfect guy. There wasn't the fire with them like there was [between Xo and Rogelio], but that's what he was there for. He was great on paper, but we didn't have the connection."