Sometimes digital reality comes crashing back with crushing force — even the past of 51-year-old American actor Simon Rex. It’s the summer of 2026, and on the screens of many gay men, his familiar face suddenly appears in improbably intimate poses. The man who, as an MTV VJ, broke teenage hearts, who played the lovable dope in “Scary Movie,” and who in 2021 celebrated a triumphant cinematic revival with the indie masterwork “Red Rocket,” is once again trending on the internet. The reason? sex scenes from more than three decades ago for the gay adult-entertainment studio “Club 1821.” The social media platform X is suddenly full of nude photos and scratchy video scenes featuring the actor born in 1974.
Where do these images come from? It’s 1993. A 19-year-old (heterosexual) Simon Rex moves to Los Angeles, penniless and on the verge of being evicted from his apartment. Under the pseudonym “Sebastian,” he accepts an offer from photographer Brad Posey. He strips down. Three videos follow (Young, Hard & Solo #2 & #3, as well as Hot Sessions III). The videos contain no interaction with other men, but are pure solo masturbation, marketed to a gay audience.
MTV was concerned
Today, a video like that would probably be a Gen-Z-OnlyFans origin story. Back then, it could have spelled the end of any mainstream career. “I thought I could shoot four porn films, become famous, and live in a world where this past would never come to light,” Rex said during a press tour about his younger self. He added: “I didn’t think there would be an Internet back then, so I figured I could do these things and no one would ever find out. Cut to ten years later, and it’s playing on a screen in front of MTV executives.”
Direct link | Rex in his MTV days
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That remark pointed to the period after his entry into the American mainstream entertainment world: when he started as an MTV VJ two years after the porn shoot, the music channel quickly called him in for a crisis meeting. The studio bosses asked him with a grave expression whether he had sex with other men. Since it was “only” solo scenes, he was allowed to stay. But the stigma stuck to him thereafter like cheap lubricant. He did land Hollywood gigs, but not major roles.
When life writes the script
That we’re talking about “Sebastian” again in 2026 is due to one of the most fascinating pop culture feedback loops of recent years. In 2021, director Sean Baker cast Rex in the film “Red Rocket.” The role? Mikey Saber, a washed-up, narcissistic porn star who returns penniless to his Texas hometown and scrambles through life. Rex basically played the caricature of what he could have become. The film earned him breakout recognition as a character actor and earned him a standing ovation in Cannes. In an interview with The Guardian, Rex candidly admitted that his real history was the best PR engine for the film: “Sean told me, ‘I cast you for your talent, but there’s definitely a meta layer to your backstory.’ I’m okay with that.” Now, even the TikTok generation, thanks to old VHS rips of Rex’s videos, has discovered this backstory for themselves.
Direct link
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In the 2004 book “Idol Worship: A Shameless Celebration of Male Beauty in the Movies,” by the way, there is a scene described that is currently widely discussed on social media. After the end of one of his solos — visibly exhausted and apparently thinking the camera wasn’t rolling anymore — the young Simon Rex looks directly into the lens and says: “I don’t care. As long as nobody touches me, it doesn’t matter. I just hope this doesn’t come back to haunt me when I’m famous!”
Direct link | Simon Rex in a “Scary Movie” film
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