Something Good is happening for Osvaldo Benavides.
The 41-year-old popular Mexican actor has joined the cast of ABC’s The Good Doctor as a series regular for the upcoming fifth season.
Benavides will portray Dr. Mateo Rendón Osma, an incredibly skilled trauma surgeon, who has spent many years working in Guatemala for a Doctors-Without-Borders type of organization. But Mateo hasn’t always been a hero; some rash actions during his residency will be back to haunt him and could complicate things.
He was introduced in The Good Doctor‘s two-part Season 4 finale. The two-episode arc came with a Season 5 series regular option for Benavides, which was picked up after The Good Doctor was renewed last month.
In Part 1 of the Season 4 finale, which aired last week, Mateo met the San Jose St. Bonaventure team and was assisting them with the surgical mission in Guatemala.
Along with the humanitarian work, sparks flew between Mateo and Dr. Audrey Lim (Christina Chang). After he joined her for a taxi ride from a local bar to the hotel the night before the first surgeries, the duo were kidnapped by a desperate man, and they teamed up to deliver a baby for the man’s niece who was in distress. The two then spent the night together, and judging by the promo for Part 2 of the finale, which airs tonight, June 7, it would not be a one-night stand.
Osvaldo is one of three new series regular additions for Season 5; The Good Doctor recently promoted Season 4 recurring players Noah Galvin, who plays Asher Wolke, and Bria Samoné Henderson (Jordan Allen).
The trio are being named series regulars at the end of a season that is bidding farewell to two original Good Doctor cast members, Nicholas Gonzalez, who exited after the season premiere, and Antonia Thomas, whose final episode is this week.
This marks the first major English-language role for Benavides who has built a formidable resume of Spanish-language starring film and TV roles in Mexico, as well as series for U.S. networks like Univision and Telemundo and global streamers like Netflix.
His most recent credits include Netflix’s Monarca and La suerte de Loli, which is currently airing on Telemundo.