Who’s ‘Virgin River’s Hot New Doctor, Cameron Hayek? Meet Mark Ghanimé

Calling all Virgin River fans: There’s a new doctor in town, and his name is Cameron Hayek.

Netflix’s beloved romantic dramedy, Virgin River, is introducing a few fresh faces in Season 4, and Dr. Hayek, played by Mark Ghanimé, is one of the show’s crucial new characters.

Based on the novels by Robyn Carr, Virgin River follows nurse practitioner and midwife Mel Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge) who relocates to the quaint titular town to start over. Throughout Virgin River’s three seasons, Mel grows her career alongside Dr. Vernon Mullins aka Doc (Tim Matheson), makes a slew of new friends, and falls in love with Virgin River bar owner Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson). Season 3 throws quite a few challenges Mel and Doc’s way, so in Season 4 Doc decides to hire some additional help at his practice. That’s how we meet Dr. Cameron Hayek.

So who is Cameron? And what do you need to know about Mark Ghanimé, the actor who plays him on screen? We’ve got you covered. But be warned, spoilers for Virgin River Season 4 lie ahead.

Who is Dr. Cameron Hayek on Virgin River?

We first meet Cameron in Episode 1 of Season 4 when Doc introduces him to Mel in the office. Turns out Doc went to medical school with Cameron’s dad, and he’s known him since he “was running around in short pants.” OK! Cameron walks in with spiffy work attire, great eyebrows, and a great smile — all facts that are incredibly relevant, considering the entire purpose of his character is to be an openly hot, single doctor.

Forget LL Cool J. The Ladies Love Cameron Hayek, and they’re not being subtle about it. Since Cameron’s arrival, the practice is packed with a waiting room full of women to see him. But he only has his eye on one: Mel. Uh oh! The two grow closer every workday, have heart to hearts in the office, and bond over shared experiences like delivering babies. We quickly learn that Cameron’s an optimistic man who’s looking for love and in desperate need of some friends in town, so Mel invites him over for a barbecue so he can meet Jack.

Jack and Cameron get off to a rocky start after Cameron disrespects Jack’s time spent in the Military. Once Jack begins drinking more during the season, Cameron tells Mel he doesn’t think Jack’s right for her, and Mel gets upset with him. After Cameron learns Mel and Jack got engaged he resigns from the practice so he won’t have to work with her anymore. But when Mel finds out Cameron plans on leaving, she resigns in hopes that he’ll stay and help Doc with the practice when she’s on maternity leave.

Who is Mark Ghanimé, Who Plays Dr. Cameron Hayek in Virgin River Season 4 on Netflix?

Mark Ghanimé is a 44-year-old Lebanese-Canadian actor whose career began in 2004 with an uncredited role in the Juliette Lewis movie, Chasing Freedom. Though he’s best known for playing Major Sergio Balleseros in Helix (a Syfy original series) and Don Carlos on The CW’s Reign, Ghanimé has also appeared in popular TV shows like Smallville, Supernatural, and The Bold Type.

Ghanimé has nearly 9,000 Twitter followers and a little more than 5,000 Instagram followers, but those numbers are sure to grow as people fall in love with Dr. Cameron Hayek on the Netflix series.

Before Season 4 of Virgin River, Ghanimé most recently appeared in The Bold Type and the TV movie Listen out for Love, as TV host and budding podcaster Alex McKinney. While it’s unclear if Ghanimé will make an appearance in Season 5 of Virgin River, his IMDb page notes that he has two other upcoming projects. So here’s hoping we’ll see more of Ghanimé in and out of the VR.