The gloves come off right away, and soon the shirt will, too, as famously hunky San Antonio native Nicholas Gonzalez embraces his biggest role yet — as a “rock star” surgeon in ABC’s fall medical drama.
In “The Good Doctor,” the Central Catholic High grad plays Dr. Neil Melendez, who both admires and butts heads with a brilliant young doctor with autism and savant syndrome.
In fact, Gonzalez’s character shares one of the best scenes in the pilot with Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) when they verbally spar in the operating room.
After Murphy relocates from a quiet country life to join the California hospital’s surgical unit, Melendez makes his feelings about him clear.
“You don’t belong here,” he says.
“You’re very arrogant,” Murphy replies in his trademark blunt manner. “Do you think that helps you be a good surgeon? Does it help you as a person? Is it worth it?”
“The Good Doctor,” from “House” creator David Shore, debuts at 9 p.m. Sept. 25 in an enviable time slot, right after ABC’s reality hit “Dancing with the Stars.”
“They say it takes 20 years to become a professional,” Gonzalez said in a one-on-one interview in the Beverly Hilton Hotel following a group Q&A with TV critics.
“When I read this script, had this opportunity, I felt this is the culmination of everything I’ve been doing. The hard knocks along the way, the lessons I’ve had to learn about myself as a person, a husband and a father.”
Executive producer Daniel Dae Kim, whom most know from his starring role on “Lost,” mentioned Gonzalez by name, in fact, when talking about the impressive performances in “The Good Doctor.”
Although Gonzalez is no stranger to recurring and guest parts in both dramas and comedies — including the final season of “Pretty Little Liars” and the upcoming season of drug-trafficking Netflix drama “Narcos” — his co-starring role here is truly something special, he said.
“I come home from work and talk to my wife about how happy I feel. I’m beyond content,” he said.
One reason, he said, is having the chance to work with Highmore, who just came off a chilling TV turn as young serial killer Norman Bates in “Bates Motel.”
