Nicholas Edward Gonzalez is a renowned American actor, widely recognized for his captivating performances as Alex Santiago on the Showtime television series Resurrection Blvd. and Dr. Neil Melendez on the ABC television series The Good Doctor. Born in San Antonio, Texas, Gonzalez has been exposed to the Spanish language from a young age, as his household was bilingual.
Gonzalez attended Central Catholic High School in San Antonio, where he excelled in cross-country and track running, earning the prestigious Texas State Championship in the mile and two-mile. Upon graduating in 1994, he was offered a presidential appointment to West Point, which he declined.
Instead, Gonzalez pursued an English degree at Stanford University in California, where he spent two terms at Oxford University in England. The following summer, he received a research grant to study at Oxford and Trinity College, Dublin, focusing on James Joyce's Ulysses to complete his thesis.
During his time at Stanford, Gonzalez discovered his passion for acting after taking an improvisational theatre elective. He began participating in student theater and was approached to perform a one-man theater piece called Gas by María Irene Fornés. Alma Martinez, a renowned actress and Stanford professor, encouraged him to pursue a career in acting.
Following his graduation from Stanford in 1998, Gonzalez decided to dedicate himself to acting, with Martinez's guidance, he connected with the theatrical movement in San Francisco. Interestingly, he was once advised to use his middle name Edward to conceal his ethnicity and go by "Nicholas Edward," but he declined to do so.
