Ernie Gonzalez Jr

Professor González, Jr. is a first-generation bilingual actor/director/educator/activist who has performed regionally at: South Coast Rep, Seattle Rep, Portland Center Stage, Denver Center for Performing Arts, Round House Theatre, The Milwaukee Repertory Theater, The Second City Chicago (BrownCo.), Porthouse Theater, The Chicago Fringe Festival, The Victory Gardens Theatre, Odyssey Theatre, The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and Musical Theater El Paso. As a company member of The Ohio Shakespeare Festival since 2007, he has performed numerous Shakespearean Clowns (to rave reviews): Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream; Touchstone in As You Like It; Both Dromios in The Comedy of Errors; Costard in Love's Labour's Lost; Lancelot in The Merchant of Venice; Lavatch in All's Well That Ends Well, and Speed in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Despite being an expert in comedy, he does not shy away from serious roles, also playing Rodrigo in Othello and Rosencrantz in Hamlet.

Some of his TV credits include, co-starring roles in: Euphoria (HBO), Carol's Second Act (CBS), Indebted (NBC), Grace and Frankie (Netflix), One Day At A Time (Netflix), Alone Together (Freeform), American Crime (ABC), Training Day (CBS), No Tomorrow (The CW), and Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC). He has also appeared in national commercials for Sonic, Rite Aid, Lowes, and Nopalina. Select directing credits include: Twelfth Night at the Ohio Shakespeare Festival, The Last, Best Small Town at Pomona College (mainstage), Vampire Lesbians of Sodom at Precinct DTLA, Zanna Don't (AD) at The Bailiwick Repertory Theatre in Chicago, and The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, at Kent State University (black box), to name a few. 

A few notable honors and awards include: 2023 Broadway World's Los Angeles Best Supporting Performer in a Play nomination for Quixote Nuevo at South Coast Rep, 2021 DC Metro's Theatre Arts Staff Favorites: Outstanding Performance in Professional Theatre for Quixote Nuevo at Round House Theatre in Bethesda Maryland, and 2007 Best of the week Directing Award for 1000 South Kelly: 365 Days/ 365 Plays at Bailiwick Repertory in Chicago. 

As a lead comedy mentor with the nonprofit group Laughter for a Change in Los Angeles, Professor González, Jr. spearheads their children's hospital outreach program called A Dose of Funny. Under his direction, teams of improvisers perform improv games for patients, their parents, and the staff at Children's Hospital LA.

Professor González, Jr. is a proud member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA, The Television Academy of Arts and Sciences, HOLA (Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors), and The National Alliance of Acting Teachers.