Was James Dean Secretly Gay? New Biopic Says Maybe
A new biopic titled Willie and Jimmy Dean is set to explore one of the most persistent questions in Hollywood lore: was James Dean gay?
The film, announced June 24 via The Hollywood Reporter, will star Brandon Flynn (True Detective: Night Country) as Dean. It's written and directed by Guy Guido, the filmmaker behind the semi-fictional Madonna project Madonna and the Breakfast Club.
Unlike a traditional biopic, Willie and Jimmy Dean is being framed as a romantic drama, centered on Dean's alleged relationship with his close friend and former UCLA roommate, William Bast. The script is based on Bast's memoir, Surviving James Dean, which claims that the two were not just friends — they were lovers navigating their identities in the deeply closeted world of 1950s Hollywood.
"This is a quiet, often painful love story between two young men trying to figure out who they are in a time when the truth could ruin you," Guido said in a press statement.
Brandon Flynn called the project "important," saying it addresses how LGBTQ identities have historically been erased from Hollywood history.
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"These stories existed," he said, "they were just whispered about or coded to death."
The question of Dean's sexuality has long hovered in the background of his legacy. Rumors persisted during and after his brief but iconic career, and Bast's memoir remains the most detailed — though still anecdotal — account. Dean himself once added fuel to the speculation, saying in an interview:
"I'm not a homosexual, but I'm also not going through life with one hand tied behind my back."
Whether Willie and Jimmy Dean will provide answers is unclear — but the film marks the first serious attempt to dramatize this part of Dean's life onscreen. If done well, it could add a new layer to the myth of a man often reduced to a leather jacket and a tragic car crash.
No release date has been announced.