Paul Reubens left one more performance for his audience.
In Pee-wee as Himself, which premiered at Sundance, the late actor reveals he was gay and long kept it private. He died of cancer in July 2023 at 70.
In more than 40 hours of interviews, Reubens describes living closeted in Hollywood. He says career demands—and self-protection—often pushed personal truth aside. He admits to “many” discreet relationships, yet chose to keep the spotlight on Pee-wee, not Paul.
The film also confronts the scandals that reshaped his life. Reubens recounts being branded with a word he insists did not apply to him, after a 1991 indecent-exposure arrest and a 2002 pornography case later reduced to a misdemeanor. For three years he registered as a sex offender, a penalty his publicist calls the result of homophobic mischaracterization. The damage, however, was lasting.
Director Matt Wolf weaves candid testimony with Reubens’ vast archives. The documentary traces his rise from The Groundlings in 1981 to Pee-wee’s Playhouse, then to later roles in Batman Returns, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mystery Men, and Blow. It follows his return to the bow tie on Broadway in 2010 and in a 2016 Netflix film. Few knew he was battling cancer during filming.
Reubens says he wanted understanding more than vindication. He hoped viewers would see the person behind the persona—and recognize that public labels can obscure a complicated, deeply human life.
