- In the first official trailer for the upcoming two-part documentary Pee-wee As Himself, Paul Reubens posthumously looked back on the iconic character and his past controversies
- The documentary, directed by Matt Wolf, premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in January
- Reubens died in July 2023 at age 70 after having endured a years-long journey with cancer
Paul Reubens is introducing himself to the world posthumously.
On Wednesday, April 23, HBO released the official trailer for Pee-wee As Himself, a two-part docuseries about the man best known as the beloved character Pee-wee Herman.
The project was filmed shortly before Reubens died at 70 in 2023, allowing him to speak out for the first time to “tell the factual story of his life” and reveal the origins of his “avant-guarde performance,” all “while reflecting on the reasoning behind, and the consequences of, severing his beloved alter ego from his authentic self,” according to the press release.
In the trailer, fans finally hear from Ruebens in his own words through 40 hours of “soul-baring” interviews.
“It’s weird to be in this situation, having a documentary made, because I’m used to having control of my alter ego. I wanted to be a performance artist,” he says in the beginning, then singing: “I could show you my characters.”
“Out of nowhere, Pee-wee Herman popped out of me,” he continues. “The audience ate it up and went crazy.”
Reubens rose to fame in the 1980s, when his quirky, comedic personality caught public attention.
“Hollywood had taken notice,” he says. “I mean, how could they not? There wasn’t, like, a moment in the ’80s, that wasn’t super cool to be me!”
“And then — dark music, bum, bum, bum, bum — I lost control of my anonymity, and it was devastating,” he adds.
The incident Reubens is referring to was his 1991 arrest for indecent exposure in an adult movie theater, which he pleaded no contest to. A decade later, he ran into trouble with the law again when his home was raided and pornographic material involving minors was reported to be discovered in his possession. The following year, in 2002, he turned himself in on a misdemeanor charge of possessing materials depicting children under the age of 18 engaged in sexual conduct.
Reubens continued to maintain his innocence (he said the images were part of a vintage erotica collection) and ultimately pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in 2004.
“I don’t want to come off like a victim in some way,” he says in the trailer. “I kept who I was a secret for a really long time. I hid behind an alter ego.”
“I wanted kids to learn: not only is being different okay, let’s celebrate it,” he explains. “But I want that not just for you, but for myself.”
Reubens also addresses his impending death in the docuseries, which was taped at the end of his six-year battle with cancer.
“Death is just so final,” he admits. “To be able to get your message in at the last minute is incredible. All these different emotions, all these different influences and factors. I was like a good vessel for it all.”
Just as it came to a close, Reubens teases one more touchy topic the docuseries is going to expose: “I’m gonna leave out the part where we did enormous amounts of drugs. Um… Oh, I didn’t.”
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Pee-wee as Himself premieres Friday, May 23 at 8 p.m. ET, with both parts airing back-to-back on HBO.
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