, best known for his iconic role as ',' revealed he was gay in the new two-part docuseries Pee-wee as Himself, which was recorded prior to his 2023 death and debuted Thursday (January 23) night at Sundance Film Festival in Salt Lake City ahead of its scheduled release on HBO and Max later this year.

"I was as out as you could be, and then I went back in the closet," Reubens revealed in the documentary. "My career would have absolutely suffered if I was openly gay, so I went to great lengths for many, many years to keep it a secret."

Reubens participated in 40 hours of interviews with director for the documentary, which revealed his past relationship with a painter named , whom he lived with in Los Angeles during the 1970s. The actor said he chose to keep his personal life and professional life separated and noted that he visited Guy just before he died from AIDS years after their break up.

"To talk about seeing someone at death’s door, that’s what that was," Reubens said, adding that the disease "scared the heck out of me" in the 1980s.

Reubens died in July 2023 following a private battle with cancer. The Pee-wee as Himself documentary will also address several of Reubens' public controversies, which included being arrested for masturbation in a movie theater, possessing child pornography and registering as a sex offender.