Pee-wee Herman actor Paul Reubens shared the truth about his sexuality in a posthumous documentary, Pee-wee as Himself. The feature, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on Thursday, January 23, dives into Reubens’ life and offers insights into his career, utilizing more than 40 hours of interviews and archival footage. Reubens died in 2023 at the age of 70 after a private battle with cancer.
During his conversations with director Matt Wolf, Reubens reveals that before landing the role of Pee-wee Herman (the iconic character he created and portrayed for decades), he had a boyfriend named Guy (Guy was actually the inspiration for some of Pee-wee’s behaviors). Becoming a known name, however, led Reubens to conceal his sexuality, as he “wasn’t pursuing the Paul Reubens career,” but the Pee-wee Herman career (via the New York Post):
“I hid behind an alter ego. I spent my entire adult life hiding I was a huge weed head,” Reubens shared. “I was secretive about my sexuality even to my friends [out of] self-hatred or self-preservation. I was conflicted about sexuality. But fame was way more complicated.”
Reubens shared the last time he saw Guy was hours before he died of AIDS. The actor said he had many “many, many secret relationships” throughout his life, but his romantic life took a backseat to his professional life.
Paul Reubens Beyond Pee-wee Herman
Reubens became synonymous with the iconic Pee-wee Herman and portrayed him for decades, beginning with a live performance at The Groundlings in 1977 and concluding with the critically lauded Pee-wee’s Big Holiday in 2016. Reubens brought the quirky character to life on stage, film, and television, gaining fame for the television series Pee-wee’s Playhouse and the Tim Burton-helmed Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.
Reubens cites the reason behind participating in the two-part documentary was to reveal his true self. In a recording made just the day before he passed away, Reubens shared:
“More than anything, the reason I wanted to make a documentary was for people to see who I really am and how painful and dreadful it was to be labeled something I wasn’t. To be labeled a pariah; to have people be scared of you, or untrusting.”
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In a highly publicized incident, Reubens was arrested at an adult movie theater in Sarasota, Florida, and subsequently charged with indecent exposure in 1991. While he later pleaded no contest to the charge, the arrest followed him for decades, casting negativity onto his career and life.
“I kept who I was a secret for a very long time. That really backfired when I got arrested. People had never seen a photo of me other than Pee-wee Herman. And all of a sudden, I had a Charlie Manson mugshot. I lost control of my anonymity. It was devastating,” Reubens reveals in ‘Pee-wee as Himself.’ It’s shocking what horrible, awful stuff people think about me. It’s still a significant footnote.”
Pee-wee as Himself is scheduled to stream in Max later this year as a two-part docuseries.
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