Reubens is sharing his truth from beyond the grave in the new documentary, Pee-wee as Himself…
The late actor Paul Reubens, known for portraying the character Pee-wee Herman, came out as gay in his posthumous HBO documentary, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Reubens concealed his sexuality for the entirety of his career, dying in 2023 at the age of 70 after a private battle with cancer.
Pee-wee as Himself dives into Reubens’ life and offers insights into his career, utilizing recent interviews with the legendary comedian and archival footage. Sitting down with director Matt Wolf for over 40 hours worth of interviews, Reubens revealed the reasons why he decided to keep his sexual orientation private.
Reubens says that before he became known for playing Pee-wee Herman, he was in a relationship with a man named Guy from Echo Park, Los Angeles. In fact, many of Guy mannerisms and his vocal tics inspired some of Pee-wee’s behaviours and most iconic catchphrases. (One of the most famous lines inspired by Guy, was when Pee-wee would say, “Mmmm! Buttery!” in a Yoda-like tone.)
In 1981, Reubens debuted his child-like Pee-wee character while performing with the Groundlings comedy troupe. Soon after, his career began to take off and the actor made the decision to keep any details surrounding his private life under lock.
“I was out of the closet, and then, I went back in the closet. I wasn’t pursuing the Paul Reubens career; I was pursuing the Pee-wee Herman career,” he explained in the posthumous documentary. He also shares that the last time he saw Guy was hours before he died of AIDS.
“To talk about seeing someone at death’s door. He probably died a couple hours after that,” Reubens shared.
Throughout his life, the Pee-wee’s Playhouse star had “many, many secret relationships,” he revealed in the doc. As he excelled in his career, he buried his personal life deeper and deeper. Reubens would go on to become a fixture on Late Night with David Letterman from 1982 to 1985, which led to a sold-out tour and his iconic 1985 film, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.
“I hid behind an alter ego. I spent my entire adult life hiding I was a huge weed head,” he recalled. “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.”
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,” he says. ‘It’s shocking what horrible, awful stuff people think about me. It’s still a significant footnote.”
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.”
“My whole career, everything I did and wrote, was based in love,” he said in his final note.
On July 30, 2023, Reubens died from cancer at age 70 after keeping his diagnosis private for years. At the time, the actor’s rep confirmed his passing in a statement.
“Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness,” it began.
“Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit,” the statement continued. “A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.”
Pee-wee as Himself is scheduled to stream later this year as a two-part docuseries.
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