Even in the kooky, spooky, and all-together ooky world of Wednesday—Netflix‘s new take on The Addams Family helmed by Tim Burton—Hunter Doohan stands out.
Sure, that’s because he plays one of the few “normies” in an ensemble filled with werewolves, vampires, disembodied hands, and other gothic creatures. But it’s also because he has a natural on-screen charm that makes him one of our favorite gay stars on the rise.
Based in Los Angeles, Doohan’s been acting steadily for the past decade, showing up in everything from the AppleTV+ mystery series, Truth Be Told, to the critically acclaimed Showtime drama, Your Honor, in which he starred opposite his acting idol, Bryan Cranston.
Still, nothing could prepare him for Wednesday, which sent him packing to Romania for an ambitious, months-long shoot and stepping into a world he never could’ve imagined. Doohan says everything about the project was a “dream come true,” including acting alongside new Scream Queen Jenna Ortega—giving her own sardonic spin on the iconic Wednesday—and Christina Ricci, who played her so memorably in the beloved ’90s films.
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“It was so trippy even getting to stand between the two of them,” Doohan shares. “I grew up with those movies, so I just feel so lucky to be part of this.”
With Wednesday now streaming, Queerty had opportunity to sit down with Doohan and make him the latest guest in our rapid-fire Q&A series, Dishin’ It. In our conversation, the star reflects on the earliest jobs he took to pay the bills, the silver lining to filming in Romania, and the musician that made him realize country music is for the queers, after all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q73UhUTs6y0
What’s the gayest thing about you?
Oh god. It’s my For You Page on TikTok.
Care to elaborate?
Haha, no, I think readers will understand.
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On Wednesday, your character, Tyler, is a barista at the local coffee shop. First of all, did you have to learn how to make lattes for the job? What was the first job you got paid for, and what do you remember about it?
No, and it was so funny because all the actors who played kids at Nevermore Academy had weeks of training when we got to set because they all had fencing and rowing and archery and painting and singing—all this stuff they do at the school. And so I was like, “Oh, I should like ask about, you barista stuff!” But, when I asked, they were like, “Oh, you really don’t need to know anything.” I mean, in my first scene, I’m literally breaking an espresso machine. So I’m not even supposed to be a good barista! Which made things very easy.
On that note: What’s the first job you ever had—the first gig you ever got paid for?
I did basically every kind of actor day job when I first got to LA. I was a background extra for five years—before I got fired by central casting—I was a waiter, I was a Universal Studios tour guide. And that was fun, but it’s a cruel process because they make you audition and it’s not even that high-paying of a job. I remember, after my first audition, I didn’t even get selected, so that was a blow to my self-esteem!
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Is there a piece of pop-culture—whether a movie, TV series, book, album, etc…—that you consider a big part of your coming-out journey? Why does it stand out to you?
For me, it was definitely discovering Will & Grace in high school, which my girlfriend at the time introduced me to.
So, was she like, “Oops!”?
Haha no, no. Her name is Grace and she’s my best friend now—we actually moved to LA together! But that show was definitely the biggest exposure I had had to queer culture up until that point. And I loved it. I don’t even know how I was still “in the closet” because I was getting Will & Grace DVD box sets for Christmas!
What was the most surprising thing about living and working in Romania, where you filmed Wednesday?
It was a challenging time to be there because, for the first four months at least, there were a lot of COVID shutdowns. I think the city had a curfew of 9pm, which made things difficult—on top of being so far away from home. So, we couldn’t leave even in our time off, because then you’d have to quarantine again. But, the nice part about that was the cast bonded really quickly. We didn’t know anybody else over there, obviously, so we’d go out to dinner, but then we’d get kicked out of the restaurant right before 9, so we’d all move to someone’s hotel or AirBnB to keep hanging out.
Around January, things started to open up more, so we traveled to a few different places, like Brașov, which is in Transylvania. And then Riki Lindhome went up to Cluj and saw this giant salt mine for one night, just for something random to do. Because we did eight episodes over seven months, and our characters weren’t involved in anything at the school, so we had a lot of downtime together.
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Inspired by The Addams Family, does your family have any funny or peculiar traditions of their own?
Ha, no, nothing super noteworthy, to be honest! Although, I did have an uncle who I remember didn’t like any of my cousin’s friends. So, any time the friends would come over, he would actually start singing The Addams Family theme song to them! The cousin hated it, of course.
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Bryan Cranston was your on-screen dad in the Showtime drama Your Honor, but what we want to know is: Who would you cast as your dream on-screen daddy?
Well, I definitely can’t say Bryan Cranston for that, because I really do think of him in the father sense now, haha. I mean, my gut answer is probably still too young to actually be a “daddy,” but I have such a crush on Matt Bomer. But he’s not old at all, so he probably wouldn’t want to be daddy yet, haha. That’s not a sentence I though I’d say today.
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Who is a queer or trans artist/performer/creator that you think is doing really cool work right now? Why are they someone we should all be paying attention to?
I love Orville Peck; I’m obsessed with him right now. I just think it’s so cool to have this gay country artist, who also happens to have this amazing music and voice. I was kind of surrounded by country music growing up in Arkansas. And I think part of me—when I was figuring out that I was queer—rejected country music because I didn’t feel like I had anywhere in that space that I belonged. But, as I’ve gotten older, I realized I do like this music, and that’s why I love Orville Peck so much, because he’s so himself.
I’ve seen him twice now, and the one time was at the Stagecoach country music festival. And it was really cool because we were dressed up in these fun costumes—my guy friend had an “I Love Cowboys” shirt on, and it got so many compliments. I know there’s these stereotypes about country fans, but everyone there was so cool and it was such a great time.
Catch Hunter Doohan in Wednesday, now streaming exclusively on Netflix.
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abfab
Has anyone here watched ”The Wednesdays”. It’s like the best short film in the world!
abfab
Orville Peck is so totally unique. We just discovered him on FIP radio. It was like a…”who the hell is this” moment! His voice….very nice.
RichAM
I love this show so much. It’s just good in everyway to me. Wonderful cast!
bachy
I’m with you! Can’t get enough of that homicidal little sourpuss.
CatholicXXX
Shame he’s a one season character.
smittoons
Jesus, the show’s been out for what? 4 days? Maybe give people a few weeks before you start dishing out spoilers.
Jon in Canada
Except he’s not. It’s already been established that if a season 2 goes ahead, the character of Tyler will be back. That’s why the last episode ends the way it does. Dumbass.
CatholicXXX
And where exactly would the “mystery” be in that.
It’s not like this is a superhero action series.
There is ZERO chance this series does NOT get renewed. ZERO.
Wheelerman
The kid’s got good taste. I’m obsessed with Orville Peck, also! I have everything he’s recorded, and just bought a t-shirt and cap from his online store. Now I may have to check out Wednesday just to watch this fella.
abfab
Indeed! He’s just lovely is so many ways. I wonder who inspired him to this level of greatness?
Diplomat
When I first saw Hunter on screen in the coffee shop I was like woah, who’s this. Such an alluring beauty with remarkable acting chops. Ortega just killed the Wednesday part. The entire show was drop dead awesome. Fingers crossed for a green light for season 2.
JED08
I have to agree about Orville Peck. He is a very talented man.
abfab
His video above is like a breath of fresh air. I bet kd lang must be crushing on him. I little bit of Chris Isack and whole lotta Patsy Cline. Elvis, too. I’m super taken by him.
Diplomat
Seriously HOT.
dbmcvey
He’s really good on the show and seems to be a good guy!
abfab
Holy mother of god! How did I not know this!! I’m going to lose my kd lang Elite Fan Club Card!!!!!!
The mysterious Peck has never shown his face in public. The name is a pseudonym. He is believed to be Daniel Pitour, a Canadian drummer from punk band Nü Sensae but that is unconfirmed.
As Peck, he released the album ‘Pony’ in 2019. “I’ve always been such a huge fan of k.d.’s,” says Peck. “Not only is she a queer icon but an incredible musician who blazed a lot of trails. I was so honored when she asked me to remix the song, and couldn’t wait to put my own spin on it.”
lang explains, “I had the idea of putting together a dance remix compilation, as I mused about how we built community in those days before the internet, mobile devices, and dating apps. Those dance clubs were a key to a world, which was still called ‘underground’ in the ’90s.” Working on the album got lang wondering how today’s top new artists and producers would interpret her music. She reached out to Peck and says his remix of her Grammy-nominated hit from 1992 “marries his music with my own beautifully. Orville and I have a lot in common and similar perspectives, I was honored when he agreed to remix one of my songs. I wanted to give him total creative freedom to do whatever he wanted with it and now I’m thrilled with the end result.”
k.d. lang released her dance mix album ‘makeover’ in May 2021.
bachy
Check out Midland “Burnout.”
fosforos
The worts tv series I’ve seen in years, casting choices are stupid, zeta as Morticia ? Lol she has no talent, this fat Gomez who acted as he had a stroke few seconds before, and this stupid SNL to play fester ? They did another Sabrina/Riverdale.
Diplomat
Hey. Don’t hold back.
nm4047
so you watched it then! Doesn’t matter if you liked it or not, the stat of another viewing is all that matters.
RIGay
“Wednesday” grew on me. At first, I thought it was yet another “CW-ish Mutant Teen Angst” TV show, but the later episodes got me riveted to the screen.
I am glad this article is more about “A mainstream actor who happens to be gay” and not “A GAY Actor!”. Finally, something where the sexuality is just part of who he is; move along. Also the resemblance to Benedict Cumberbach is remarkable! I could see him cast as a younger version of BC somewhere down the line.
The only question I have: Is he related to James Doohan, “Scotty” from Star Trek?
Jim
Brian Cranston is old enough to be his grand daddy
nm4047
What, a Gay man playing a Str8 role, how outrageous.