New dad Benjamin Hollingsworth doesn’t just play a doctor on TV — he is also sort of one in real life, at least when it comes to his own family.
“My OB/GYN was great. He was also sick of me because I kept giving him medical advice,” joked Hollingsworth, who shadowed ER doctors for 300 hours to prepare for his role as Dr. Mario Savetti on the CBS medical drama Code Black, on Thursday’s edition of Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family.
“He was like, ‘Okay, I got this.’ But when it came time to catch the baby, he was like, ‘So, you’re the doctor — you wanna do this?’” adds Hollingsworth, 32, who welcomed son Hemingway Nash with wife Nila on July 3.
“And I kinda looked at him and I was like, ‘Yeah, I wanna do this,’ ” he continued.
“So I put on the gloves, and I was the first human my baby felt touch him,” the proud dad recounts. “And I lifted him up and I had the Simba moment.”
The screen then shows the iconic The Lion King photo of Rafiki holding Simba up to the heavens, with the beginning notes of “Circle of Life” playing in the background.
“That’s me right there,” Hollingsworth jokes, pointing to Rafiki before turning his attention to the scowling villain Scar and adding, “See at the bottom? That’s my OB/GYN.”
“[It was] the best thing ever,” says Hollingsworth of the experience. “Just don’t drop the football on that one.”
The actor explains that the father-son duo already has a special bonding routine that helps Hemingway get to sleep.
“He’s the best. Anytime he can’t go to sleep, I put him on my chest [and he falls asleep],” Hollingsworth says.
One thing that has proved challenging for the new parents? Middle-of-the-night diaper changes.
“A 4 a.m. diaper change can be trickier than a thoracotomy on a patient,” jokes Hollingsworth, who describes himself on his Instagram profile as “Designated Diaper Changer.”
“I’m very proud of that,” he said. “My wife uses [my title] at 4 a.m. often — although she [does] all the heavy lifting, let’s be honest, I’m not taking anything away. Oh my God … breastfeeding, everything.
“But beyond 4 a.m., I’ll get the nudge and, ‘Sweetie, it’s your turn,’ and I go into action,” he shares.
