Never Forget

The Gays are Fondly Remembering Kieran Culkin’s Twink Era

Kieran Culkin has been creating some righteous buzz for his performance in “Succession” ever since the show came out in 2018. All those years ago, we didn’t realize what Culkin’s turn as Roman Roy would do for the gay community. If Roman’s sexuality isn’t exactly queer, it’s certainly at least queer adjacent: Culkin even went so far as to recently tell Variety that Roy’s sexuality is very much fluid and 100% on the kink spectrum. From his nasty, hilariously kinky relationship with Geri to watching Alexander Skarsgard pee on a mountaintop, Culkin has given us some truly sublime character moments.

But that’s not all he’s given us. Fans of Culkin’s body of work are taking this moment—in which the actor is being freshly submitted for a leading actor in a Drama Emmy nom—to remember the time he played gay. And not just any gay: only a genre-defining gay character back in the days when we were dying for the tiniest scraps of representation.

If you were queer in the late oughts, you probably watched every move Lady Gaga made and clung for dear life to each new episode of “Glee.” Because that was all we had, and I do not exaggerate.

Enter Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, adapted from the Canadian graphic novel series of the same name, in which Scott Pilgrim (a very young Michael Cera) must defeat his love interest Ramona Flowers’ seven love interests in a series of epic battles royale in order to date her. It was the film that launched a thousand trans identities, gave us a lovesick Alison Pill and a sh*tkicking Mae Whitman fresh off of “Arrested Development.” It was ballsy, cartoonish, loud, and wonderful. And Kieran Culkin was there, playing Scott’s very own “cool gay roommate”, Wallace Wells.

Now listen: it was 2010, and we still thought Brandon Flowers was straight. So not only was it a joy to see a Culkin play an unabashedly sexual hot twink (we see him in bed with a cute hookup early on), it was a straight-up revelation. Curt and Blaine who?

Fans of the original film will be ecstatic to know that Culkin has signed on to reprise his role as Wallace in an upcoming anime reboot of Scott Pilgrim.

Culkin played the role to deadpan perfection, showing us that while, yes, in 2010 most gay characters were still relegated to the “cool best friend” category, they could at least f*ck and look hot. Baby steps, ok?

Who knew that straight boy with the lesbian hair playing a cute twink would make it all the way here, playing the game of thrones with his weird siblings.

Here’s to you, Kieran. Keep playing weird twinks: we need representation, too.

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