Evil Dead Burn's Hunter Doohan talks his rise as a gay scream king

Hunter Doohan just walked through the front door of his Los Angeles home, fresh off 19 hours of travel from Dublin, where he is deep in production on the highly anticipated third season of Netflix’s smash hit Wednesday. In a few hours, he will step in front of the lens and under the crimson red lights for his latest photo op: Gracing the cover of Out magazine’s Love Issue — and from the sound of it, the busy actor had no time for a pre-shoot ritual.

“I’ve been working hard and taking relatively good care of myself, so hopefully the photos will turn out good,” Doohan says with a laugh.

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If his recent trajectory is any indication, the 32-year-old rising star is rapidly becoming one of the most compelling and visible actors of his generation, stepping into a lineage of openly queer leading men who are actively redefining what is possible in mainstream Hollywood. Among those is an actor he looks up to: a fellow Out cover star who’s been proving that gay men can play the straight leading man and object of desire in a major tentpole movie.

“He really is a hero of mine. He’s amazing,” Doohan says of Jonathan Bailey.

Like Bailey, Doohan is making his leap from genre television to high-profile mainstream movies. But while Bailey has conquered period dramas such as Bridgerton, Doohan is carving out a distinct yet delightfully twisted niche for himself. From his breakout role as Tyler Galpin (aka the Hyde) on the Netflix hit Wednesday to his bone-chilling performance as the sadistic Muse in the Marvel Studios show Daredevil: Born Again, Doohan has proven himself an expert at navigating dark, fantastical narratives. Now, he is playing in one of the most blood-drenched sandboxes in horror history: the Evil Dead franchise.

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This July, Doohan’s sure-to-be blood-spattered face will be seen in Evil Dead Burn — the sixth installment of the series, this time directed by Sébastien Vaniček (Infested). The film also stars Souheila Yacoub and Tandi Wright, and, from what the trailers indicate, it’s going to be a carnage-filled ride.

The Evil Dead franchise — which also includes three seasons of the Ash vs Evil Dead Starz series — is not for the squeamish. Ever since Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Rob Tapert first unleashed the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis (the Book of the Dead) and its Deadites (demonic spirits who possess human bodies) upon unsuspecting audiences in 1981, the series has earned an infamous reputation for its no-holds-barred gore and geysers of blood and viscera. It’s no wonder the original film’s tagline was “The Ultimate Experience in Grueling Terror.”

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For Doohan, landing the role of Joseph in Evil Dead Burn was a dream come true, but it came with a slight dose of intimidation. Stepping onto an Evil Dead set required an immediate deep dive into 45 years of Deadite lore.

“I had seen Evil Dead, the Fede Álvarez one,” Doohan explains, referencing the 2013 film directed by the Uruguayan filmmaker. “And I had seen Evil Dead 2. My character Joseph, he’s researching the lore in the story, and so through that audition process, I went and watched it and watched all the movies all over again and checked out the show as well. I was running out of time — but I was all over the Wiki and learning everything I could about the Kandarian Dagger and everything I could get my hands on.”

The preparation paid off, but nothing could quite brace him for the twisted mayhem ahead. The producers of the franchise are known to take a devilish pride in ensuring their cast members earn their stripes through gallons of stage blood. One producer even felt the need to bluntly tell the cast about the torture they were about to endure.

“I remember when I first got to New Zealand, Rob Tapert, who’s produced them all, sat me down and — I think he did it with every cast member — and basically gave us a warning of how grueling these Evil Dead shoots are,” Doohan recalls with a grin. “He was like, ‘There will come a moment when you will have a breakdown,’ and I was like, I’m excited. I think it’s going to be good. But yeah, it was taxing, for sure, just physically and emotionally, because the way that this script unfolds is just, once shit hits the fan, it is relentless.”

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In Evil Dead Burn, Doohan plays Joseph, a character with familial connective tissue to major players in the franchise’s mythology. Hardcore fans will surely home in on a certain family name that’s been around since the original.

“Joseph is working on a book about his grandfather’s research,” Doohan reveals. “His grandfather knew Professor Knowby. I loved how this script not only ties back a little bit to Evil Dead Rise — but this movie connects the lore through the whole franchise, which I found really exciting.”

The film, which centers on a family reunion (literally) from hell, is already being teased as the most vicious and savage entry in the series yet. For Doohan, the opportunity to engage with old-school, practical filmmaking was an exhilarating rite of passage.

“Just as a fan of horror, it’s exciting, and for it to be an Evil Dead movie. I was literally jumping up and down when I got the call,” he says. “It is gnarly. It is super gruesome. And the makeup and special effects team on this movie were just unbelievable. The Deadite makeup they did was insane. I’m really hoping that it comes across as gruesome as it was on the page and how it felt when we were filming.”

This intense baptism by blood binds Doohan to an elite Hollywood subculture. Past Evil Dead alumni have long described the franchise as a tight-knit fraternity, where the hazing ritual involves being blasted by blood cannons. It is a sentiment Doohan wholeheartedly confirms.

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“I think that there probably is a real bonding thing for anyone that’s been in these, they know just how taxing all of that is. And it’s so fun. It’s cool to be a part of something where everyone’s so excited. There is that camaraderie that comes with it.”

His involvement in the franchise also recently scored him a visit to the set of the upcoming seventh installment, which will release in spring 2028. “I had a chance to actually visit the set of Evil Dead Wrath while they were shooting,” he shares. “It was cool just to go on set and just to be welcomed in, and they were like, ‘Oh, let me show you this,’ and everyone’s so excited, and they’re asking questions about Evil Dead Burn, and I was geeking out over what they were doing.”

Doohan’s leading role in Evil Dead Burn carries a historic weight that extends far beyond the boundaries of the fandom. The horror genre has historically been a complex space for the LGBTQ+ community. While queer subtext has filled the genre for decades, out gay male actors have rarely been centered as the leads of major horror franchises. There are plenty of scream queens and final girls, but hardly any “final boys.” Stars like Anthony Perkins (Psycho) and Mark Patton (A Nightmare on Elm Street 2) were closeted when they led their respective horror films.

While there are some modern examples, such as openly gay actors Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge taking center stage in A Knock at the Cabin, or Froy Gutierrez being the leading man in The Strangers: Chapter 1, horror is still largely led by straight actors when it comes to major theatrical releases. (Another exception is Obsession's Michael Johnston.) By stepping into Evil Dead Burn as an out and proud actor, Doohan is subtly but significantly breaking barriers.

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“That’s really interesting. I haven’t thought about that, but you’re right,” Doohan muses. “It’s really cool because I feel like gay audiences are really drawn to horror. I feel like that’s a huge Venn diagram crossover section, because horror as a genre takes these social commentaries and wraps it up in a super entertaining movie to watch. But I feel super lucky, and it’s so nice to work with people where it’s like not even a thought in their head. Me being out and open was never a detriment to me playing the part of Joseph, who is not gay in the film.”

Like his characters in Wednesday, Your Honor, and last year’s The Wilderness, Joseph marks the latest in a line of heterosexual roles Doohan has played on-screen. It isn’t a deliberate choice, but rather the unpredictable nature of the audition process.

“People ask me that, and I’m like, I have auditioned for queer roles!,” he recalls with a laugh. “So there’s definitely been some that would have been amazing to do. I’ve only played queer roles in some shorts. I’ve never really had the opportunity to do it in a feature or on television yet. But it’s not something that I’m avoiding. When it comes to choosing projects, I always say I am genre agnostic. It’s really about the people doing it and the script.”

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As he takes on more projects, attends premieres, or gets invited to prestigious Hollywood events, Doohan has crossed paths with other actors he looked up to before he made it big. One of them is Out’s most recent Pride issue cover star, Colman Domingo, who has certainly blazed his own trail when it comes to landing major leading roles. Doohan fondly recalls a chance encounter at a Los Angeles party with the Rustin Oscar nominee, who lived up to expectations.

“Love him. Oh my God,” Doohan recalls. “He’s definitely a hero of mine, and he was so sweet. Those moments are always really cherished: when you meet someone you look up to, and they’re so kind and everything that you want them to be.”

But his ultimate master class in acting came from his time on Your Honor, a Showtime series in which he starred alongside Bryan Cranston.

“He is just number one for me,” Doohan says of Cranston. “Breaking Bad is my favorite show of all time, and so to get to work with him and him be the sweetest man on earth...it was just everything to me.”

The bond ran deep; Cranston went on to officiate Doohan’s 2022 wedding to his husband, Fielder Jewett. “We went and got dinner with him and his wife, Robin, like right before I was heading off to shoot Evil Dead Burn, and he was about to head to London to do a play on the West End. We keep in contact. I just adore him.”

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Doohan and Jewett, a film producer, first met on Tinder in 2015 and are celebrating 11 years together this year. “I’ve got a cute little gift that I’ve made for him for our anniversary coming up,” shares Doohan, who says he’s been exploring embroidery. What’s the secret to their relationship’s longevity? “I think when a lot of our friends are starting to date people, something that Fielder always says to them is, ‘When you find someone you really like, it will be easy.’ It’s like, you won’t really be thinking about that much. You just want to spend time with them and hang out with them and, if anything’s holding you back from that, then it’s probably something telling you it’s not right.”

Also, while filming on location for months at a time in different time zones, “so much FaceTime” is crucial. “Long-distance with this job, it gets tricky, but you just figure it out,” Doohan says. “Same with any kind of relationships or friendships— or talking to my mom— you just got to find ways to stay up late or get up early to talk to people.”

Now, Doohan is back on set with another cinematic visionary: Tim Burton. Returning to Ireland to film Wednesday season 3, Doohan speaks of Burton with deep reverence, connecting the director’s classic themes to his own lived experience as a queer kid.

“Working with Tim is amazing. He’s so inspiring — he’s just so himself all the time,” Doohan reflects. “To me, all of his main characters are these outcasts in the world, and then you get to know them deeper and see why they don’t fit in. I feel like every queer kid feels that way growing up. So I think that’s why I always gravitated towards his work. And to get to work with him now is just incredible.”

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While he remains tight-lipped about the plot of season 3, he promises that the show is “really expanding the world for all the characters and diving deeper into everything.” He is also thoroughly enjoying the addition of new cast icons like Eva Green. “I just got to meet Eva. She is so sweet. I love her. Billie Piper joined the cast last season, and Penny Dreadful is one of my favorite shows ever. So now they’re both on it. I’m always just fishing for stories and gossip about that show. I love it.”

Being on a show with creative visionaries such as Burton and seeing firsthand what magic Wednesday’s practical and visual effects wizards cook up has given him an even stronger appreciation of human-created art. As Hollywood faces an existential crisis over the rise of generative artificial intelligence, Doohan stands firmly on the side of human artistry.

“That is so creepy and weird. I hate that,” Doohan says of AI deepfakes. “As far as it affecting the industry, besides unions getting it in contracts, I think it’s going to come down to us as audience members not showing up and paying for that when that stuff starts to come out. We need to be adamant that we want to respect and honor human-made art, which is insane that we even have to clarify that now.”

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As for what he plans to tackle beyond Wednesday, Doohan is eager to stretch his wings and step away from popular intellectual properties. He also wants to dabble with lighter material — and, in the near future, step behind the lens.

“I feel like I play a lot of really tortured souls. [laughs] I feel like I need to do a rom-com. Let’s get a musical going. Something like that,” he jokes. “I’m back to trying to figure out what’s next when we finish up…. And then I love to write, so I’m trying to get my first feature off the ground right now. That’s my main goal right now, is a script I’ve written that I want to direct. I got to produce The Wilderness that came out last year. That was just so rewarding, and getting to have a say in so many different parts of the production and feeling more involved with it was amazing. So it’s definitely something I want to keep doing.”

Whether it’s behind the camera or in front of it, Doohan is living his dream and actively building the future he wants to see: one that any queer young person can grow up to have if they really want it. In a full-circle way, he’s becoming the same type of gay role model he used to look up to as a kid.

“I’ve had several encounters from young queer fans coming up to me, and they’d said really sweet things. That always means so much,” Doohan says. “When I was looking up to people, I always felt an instant connection with finding out a musician or an actor was queer. I hold that really dear when someone just says whatever nice thing. It’s great.”

This cover story is part of OUT’s July-Aug 2026 print issue, on newsstands July 7. Support queer media and subscribe — or download the issue through Apple News+, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader starting June 18.

Evil Dead Burn comes out in theaters July 10.

Out July/August 2026 cover star Hunter DoohanDennis Leupold

talent Hunter Doohan @hunterdoohan
photographer Dennis Leupold @dennisleupold
first photo assistant, digital Tommy Blanco
photo assistants Anatalia Zavaleta @anataliaa_z, Winston Kingstro @winston_king_artist
creative director Mikey Lombardo @djmikeypop
stylist Jordan Dorso @dorso
groomer Rob Scheppy @robscheppy
videographer Miguel Torres @mtrider91
location Dust Studios LA @duststudiosla, duststudiosla.com