Official Trailer for ‘Pee-wee as Himself’ Biopic Doc on Paul Reubens

Official Trailer for ‘Pee-wee as Himself’ Biopic Doc on Paul Reubens

by Alex Billington
April 23, 2025
Source: YouTube

“He wanted people to see who he was as Paul.” HBO has revealed the trailer for Pee-wee as Himself, a two-part documentary presentation coming to Max this May. “For the first time, meet the man behind the character.” Starring Paul Reubens, about Paul Reubens, featuring Paul Reubens, in the definitive life story film examining Paul Reubens (and his iconic character Pee-wee Herman). The doc starts out revisiting Reubens’ childhood and his desire to be an actor, inspired by the iconic TV shows like “Howdy Doody,” “Captain Kangaroo,” and “I Love Lucy.” Subsuming himself into the character of Pee-wee, Reubens hides his personal life, and recognizes too late that fame makes for a complicated companion… Later, Reubens talks candidly about his fame as a pop culture icon and the lows he endured as he faced rumors, vilification, and the vitriol of the media. With guests including Abby Rubenfeld, Gary Panter Wayne White, Natasha Lyonne, John Moody, S. Epatha Merkerson, Laurence Fishburne, Debi Mazar, David Arquette, Judd Apatow, and many others. The doc originally premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. This looks fascinating – I think it’s time we really give Paul Reubens a reappraisal. I’m sold on this – I will be watching.

Here’s the official trailer for Matt Wolf’s doc Pee-wee as Himself, direct from HBO’s YouTube:

Driven by a soul-baring interview with Paul Reubens – the man behind the iconic character Pee-wee Herman – Matt Wolf’s two-part documentary Pee-wee as Himself is the definitive portrait of the comedic performer, and a window into his never-before-discussed personal life. Determined to correct the record and tell the factual story of his life, Reubens excavates his kaleidoscopic influences, origins in the circus and avant-garde performance theater, and career choices, while reflecting on the reasoning behind, and the consequences of, severing his beloved alter ego from his authentic self. Pee-wee as Himself is directed by the American doc filmmaker Matt Wolf, director of the docs Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell, Teenage, Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project, and Spaceship Earth previously. It’s exec produced by Matt Wolf, Candace Tomarken, Josh & Benny Safdie, Sara Rodriguez, Paul Reubens, Kyle Martin, Lisa Heller, Eli Bush, Ronald Bronstein, Nancy Abraham. Made by Elara Pictures & HBO Documentary Films. HBO debuts Pee-wee as Himself streaming on Max starting on May 23rd, 2025 this summer. Intrigued?

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