As Cougar Town prepared for its sixth and final season, I chatted with actor Ian Gomez, co-star and mayor of the “cul-de-sac crew.”
Cougar Town‘s Ian Gomez: Gulfhaven’s Favorite Mayor
This winter will mark the airing of Cougar Town’s sixth and final season. Actor Ian Gomez, who plays Andy Torres on the show, explains that he has already spoken to writers about the season and it “sounds like it’s our best one yet.” Onscreen, Gomez is married to the real-life wife of show creator, Bill Lawrence. And Gomez explains it’s a “wonderful honor to be trusted with portraying one part of him,” even joking “I always have to watch my step.” The Cougar Town cast is close – they’ve been through a lot together and “still go out for lunch.” In keeping with the theme of the show, they also meet up for “wine Wednesdays” at a restaurant near the set. Gomez jokes that this is “research.”
Gomez’s journey to Hollywood is an interesting one. He “never really liked acting as a kid but, as [he] got older, it seemed like the only thing that didn’t feel like a job.” While working in a New York City restaurant, with many moonlighting actors as peers, he was persuaded to take an acting class. He audited, enjoyed and, later, signed up. Then, he went to Chicago and enrolled in additional classes, including ones at The Second City. Soon after, Gomez decided he no longer wanted to be in the restaurant business. If he hadn’t changed course to acting, Gomez speculates he would likely be managing a restaurant.
Gomez is a funny guy, but he limits his humor to the screen. Many years ago he tried standup twice. “The first time was great and the second time was not,” he tells me. He is also a family man and is married with one daughter, who is “very creative and shows a wonderful imagination.” Will she, too, get into acting like Gomez or his Canadian wife, Nia Vardalos? “If she chooses it, it’s fine,” says Gomez, like any good dad.
At parting, Gomez humbly thanks our readers for watching Cougar Town. And though we love fall, we’re excited for the season of Cougar Town this winter will bring.
Reba Writes 