When Robert Gonzales first came to Los Angeles, he wanted to be a star — in the legal world, that is.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown Law School, he landed a job at the world’s largest law firm, packed his things and moved to the West Coast.

Shortly after his arrival, however, the firm closed its L.A. offices. At that point he decided to follow his original dream: to be an actor.

Now better known as Robert Gant, he discovered his love of acting at the tender age of ten, when he appeared in several television commercials in his native Florida.

At eleven, he performed a soft-shoe routine with Bob Hope as part of Hope’s USO tour.

After years of recurring guest appearances on such popular series as Friends, Melrose Place, Ellen, Providence and Popular, where he usually played the husband/boyfriend, Gant became a familiar face on the small screen.

He finally secured his place as a bona fide star with his current role on Showtime’s Queer as Folk.

Gant’s portrayal of Ben Buckner, an HIV-positive literature professor, has certainly made a splash on the groundbreaking series.

He has already accomplished the transition to the big screen, appearing in the independent film The Contract and the soon-to-be-released Fits and Starts.

With a law degree under his belt, it’s nice to know that Gant has a fallback career, but at this rate it doesn’t look like he’s going to need it anytime soon.