What Happened To The Actor Who Played Gordo On Lizzie McGuire? He's Unrecognizable Now

For many millennials, being a tween in the early 2000s meant accessorizing with butterfly clips, listening to boy bands like NSYNC, and spending hours messaging friends on AOL Instant Messenger while watching the Disney Channel. One of the most popular shows on Disney Channel at the time was "Lizzie McGuire," a show that followed Lizzie (played by Hilary Duff) and her antics with her two best friends, David "Gordo" Gordon and Miranda Sanchez, as they navigated adolescence. In the years since the hit show ended in 2004, many fans have wondered what happened to the cast of "Lizzie McGuire," especially the trio of best friends.

Lizzie's friend Gordo, played by actor Adam Lamberg, was a familiar face in not only the television series but in "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" as well. However, similar to what happened to Lalaine Vergara-Paras, the actor who played Miranda, life changed for Lamberg after "Lizzie McGuire" ended. The actor who played Gordo seemed to disappear from the spotlight, leading many of the former show's viewers to wonder where he went with his career. Lamberg is one of the Disney channel stars who was much older than fans realized, and he went on to become more than just another child actor who got their start on the Disney Channel. Not a lot of details are publicly known about Lamberg post-"Lizzie McGuire," but one thing is for certain: He went through a major transformation and is almost unrecognizable now.

Adam Lamberg got his start in acting when he booked a commercial for American Express at only 7 years old. He went on to secure small roles in the movies "I'm Not Rappaport," "Radiant City," and "The Day Lincoln Was Shot" before booking his most well-known role as David "Gordo" Gordon on "Lizzie McGuire." Although the show that skyrocketed him to fame ended, Lamberg's professional acting career continued for a few years after.

The actor who played Gordo on "Lizzie McGuire" acted in the independent movie "When Do We Eat?" in 2005, a comedy about Passover. Three years later, Lamberg starred in another independent movie, "Beautiful Loser," in 2008. In the coming-of-age comedy drama, he played the main character Reggie, nicknamed Ditto, who falls in love during his senior year of high school after vowing to not do anything with his life. As Lamberg grew as a person, he also grew as an actor and expanded his acting portfolio. In a 2003 red carpet interview at the premiere of the "Lizzie McGuire Movie," Lamberg discussed his similarities to his most well-known character, Gordo. "I tried to give a little bit of my characteristics and stuff to make him real," Lamberg said. The actor revealed that he identifies with his character being "a nice kid."

In the show "Lizzie McGuire," Hilary Duff's eponymous character famously had a crush on her fellow classmate, Ethan Craft. However, in the extended "Lizzie McGuire" universe, Lizzie ended up kissing one of her best friends, David "Gordo" Gordon, at the romantic conclusion of "The Lizzie McGuire Movie." In the aforementioned red carpet interview, Adam Lamberg told a reporter that Gordo had some romantic "tension" with Duff's character throughout the television series. "Nothing ever developed in the show," Lamberg said. "And then the movie ... you'll see," the Disney Channel actor teased. However, when it comes to Lamberg's romantic relationships in real life, he has remained tight lipped, keeping any possible romances and relationships under wraps in adulthood.

Yet in the years after "Lizzie McGuire" ended, Lamberg was rumored to have a relationship that was not entirely kept from the public. Some celebrity gossip sites claim that the actor was reportedly with Jessica Bridgeman, an American musician, from 2005 until 2008. Bridgeman would have been 14 when the pair allegedly got together, while Lamberg would have been 21, an obviously concerning age gap that indicates this rumor is likely false. There is no actual evidence that the two were ever together, only online speculation and unsubstantiated claims. The lack of reputable sources seem to prove the rumor inaccurate, and there have been no other reports about the "Lizzie McGuire" actor's dating life since.

Adam Lamberg's character of Gordo in "Lizzie McGuire" captured tween hearts everywhere in the early 2000s. Other Disney Channel actors of the era, such as "Hannah Montana" star Miley Cyrus, Dylan and Cole Sprouse from "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody," as well as Lamberg's "Lizzie McGuire" co-star, Hilary Duff, have not left the spotlight behind quite like how Lamberg did. The Disney Channel actors went on to have careers in the music and acting industries, in the Disney universe, and beyond. However, Lamberg's career trajectory took him elsewhere, mainly out of the public eye.

Shortly after "Lizzie McGuire" ended, Lamberg left the world of television sets, paparazzi, and red carpet movie premieres behind. After his last acting role in the movie "Beautiful Loser," he stepped out of the limelight. The actor who played Gordo in "Lizzie McGuire" has not appeared in anything that made it past the production stage since that movie came out in 2008. Yet, leaving acting behind was far from the end of Lamberg's professional journey.

Many child actors go on to have a career in the entertainment industry rather than making the choice to pursue a more traditional route as an adult. However, that was not the case for Adam Lamberg. The actor from "Lizzie McGuire" decided to pursue higher education and began attending college while he was still acting. According to his LinkedIn profile, he took longer than the typical four years to complete the requirements to get his degree, a fact that makes sense since he was balancing his academic studies and acting schedule when he first started college. Lamberg began studying in August 2002 at the University of California in Berkeley and eventually earned his Bachelor's degree in May 2008. Lamberg's character, Gordo, in "Lizzie McGuire" was interested in film, but the actor himself chose a rather unexpected subject to major in; he completed an undergraduate degree in geography.

Later, the former child actor decided to further his education, this time opting for a school on the East Coast since he no longer needed to be on television and movie sets in Los Angeles. Lamberg attended Baruch College in the heart of New York City from 2012 until 2016 for his graduate studies; he earned a Master's degree in the field of public administration. While perhaps an unexpected field for a former Disney Channel star to enter, Lamberg did eventually use his degree in a professional capacity.

Whether actors continue acting or pursue another avenue as they get older, those who get their start in Hollywood typically remain part of the entertainment industry in some capacity. Disney Channel actors in particular do not often end up working in a field completely out of the spotlight. However, that is exactly what the actor who played Gordo in "Lizzie McGuire" did. In 2012, the same year that Adam Lamberg started his master's program at Baruch College, he began working at the Irish Arts Center in New York City.

Lamberg worked at the arts center throughout grad school, during which time he held different roles at the organization. The former child actor started working at the Irish Arts Center as an assistant event coordinator before moving on to the role of development associate, a position he remained in for almost three years. Although not Irish himself, Lamberg took on a role that aimed to celebrate Irish traditions, such as dances in Celtic costumes. 

In 2015, Lamberg was named development officer at the Irish Arts Center but ultimately left the organization at the end of 2019 after working there for over seven years. Seemingly just as ambitious as his character in "Lizzie McGuire," who was an aspiring film director, Lamberg wasted no time jumping into a new job. He decided to go freelance rather than work at one specific organization. For over half a decade, Lamberg worked in fundraising and special event consulting, a position he still holds at the time of this writing.

Adam Lamberg stepped out of the public spotlight and, judging by the looks of it, has not looked back. Although his LinkedIn profile is public, he does not have a profile picture, an indication that he no longer wants his life to be on display like it was during his acting days. The former "Lizzie McGuire" star has no known personal social media accounts on any other platforms, hidden or visible. For a person who first started acting at a young age, it makes sense that Lamberg would want to live a more private existence as an adult.

Lamberg was born in New York City, and after his last acting role, he moved from Los Angeles to return back to his hometown in the Big Apple. Lamberg's former "Lizzie McGuire" co-star Hilary Duff continued her successful acting career and went on to have a brief musical career as a singer. However, in the words of Duff herself, the world of Hollywood was "So Yesterday" for Lamberg. The actor who played Gordo on "Lizzie McGuire" prefers a life of anonymity now; most details of his personal and love life are unknown. Considering Lamberg's lack of an online presence, this does not come as a surprise to most fans. At one point, Lamberg was so far out of the public spotlight that Google actually autocorrected the actor's name to Adam Lambert, the former "American Idol" contestant and musician.

In 2015, former "Lizzie McGuire" cast members Hilary Duff, Lalaine Vergara-Paras, and the actor who played Lizzie's younger brother, Jake Thomas, had a brief but long-anticipated reunion at a bowling alley. Thomas shared a picture of the trio on Instagram and captioned it, "So, this happened last night ... " While fans of the former Disney Channel show were thrilled to see some of their favorite characters back together, many could not help but notice Adam Lamberg's absence. Fans wondered where Lamberg was and why he was not at the reunion. His absence from the "Lizzie McGuire" reunion group picture prompted internet sleuths to start the Twitter hashtag #wheresgordo.

The former actor's place of work at the time, the Irish Arts Center, even got in on the search; they cheekily tweeted a picture of him with the #wheresgordo hashtag and said he could be found at work. The Irish Arts Center revealed on their official X account that Lamberg was working at an Irish dance festival at the time. "Lucky to have him on our team," the nonprofit wrote, accompanied with the hashtag #heresgordo.

From "Full House" and "Boy Meets World" to "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," many popular shows from decades ago were rebooted in recent years. Often, the television show reboots feature multiple cast members from the original series, and the "Lizzie McGuire" reboot would be no different. At the Disney D23 Expo in August of 2019, it was announced that the iconic Disney show would be rebooted. Hilary Duff was set to reprise her role as Lizzie, and Adam Lamberg signed on to reprise his role as Gordo as well. Disney+ even posted a picture of the actors together again as adults on their Instagram page. "Reunited and it feels so Gordo!" Disney captioned the post. The photo confirmed Lamberg's return to television as Gordo, with his onscreen bestie, Lizzie.

Details about the "Lizzie McGuire" reboot were few, and eventually Duff announced sad news for "Lizzie McGuire" fans that production of the reboot series was not going to move forward. Less than a year after the actors who played Gordo and Lizzie reunited, Disney reportedly decided to not go through with the project due to creative differences between Disney+ and the show's creative team. The actor who played Gordo filmed a few scenes for the show that sadly never aired. Still, fans wonder if the canceled "Lizzie McGuire" reboot may get a second chance. It's worth noting that Lamberg's LinkedIn profile still lists "actor" in the description.