Paws Up
Lady Gaga Changed Hunter Doohan’s Life Long Before She Joined Wednesday
As a teen in Arkansas, he found solace in Lady Gaga’s theatrical pop. Now, he’s starring in Netflix’s mega-hit show — and Mother Monster is coming along for the ride.
Wednesday is officially Netflix’s most popular English-language series... ever. Of course, for Hunter Doohan, who plays barista-slash-shapeshifting monster Tyler, knowing that Lady Gaga is watching has been celebration enough. After a viral TikTok dance trend set Wednesday’s moves to Gaga’s “Bloody Mary” — starting with @emowandaep’s edit — Mother Monster not only declared herself a fan but also joined the show for its second season, premiering Aug. 6. “It’s bigger. And I think people are going to like it even more,” Doohan, 31, says of the show’s return. “The twists and turns are really fun.”
Long before they were technically coworkers, Doohan was a teenager in Arkansas, wowed by Gaga’s theatricality. And though a lot has changed since then, Doohan says, the thrills she offers in her music haven’t gotten any less potent.
When I was in the closet in high school, I sang a Gaga medley at a talent show with a friend who played guitar. I think it was a mashup of four singles from the first album. If I had been thinking about it as, like, I’m going to show this side of myself, I never would have had the guts to do it. I was just doing something I loved.
I grew up in Arkansas, so finding myself and coming out was a challenge. I remember waking up to sneak down to the family computer and watch the “Born This Way” music video before school. Gaga was so vocal about her support for the gay community, and it was really important to see someone who was the most popular pop star in the world talking so openly and lovingly about that.
I got to see her at Coachella recently. Anytime she played the early stuff, it totally brought me back to being a teenager driving around Arkansas, blasting that music. She’s so amazing with how personal her lyrics are, but then it’s so theatrical. The performative nature of pop stars has always inspired me. I really found a home in high school theater, and that ended up opening up my whole world to acting. But truthfully, it was just a place where I felt like I belonged, and that was how I fell into any of this. I’m so grateful for that.
There have been a few instances of young people coming up to me and basically thanking me for being out. It’s really sweet. I think a lot of people who feel othered connect to Wednesday. Originally — in Season 1, before all the twists — the show was like, “Is she going to choose this guy or this guy?” And then all the fans immediately wanted her to get with her roommate and dubbed it “Wenclair.” That was amazing. That never would have happened with a major TV show when I was in high school.
“Gaga was so vocal about her support for the gay community, and it was really important to see the most popular pop star in the world talking so openly and lovingly about that.”
As a huge Gaga fan, I couldn’t believe that the show was on her radar at all. Being in queer spaces and going out for Pride and hearing her music — it’s such escapism. The way that everyone is losing it now to “Abracadabra,” we just get to come together and dance and have fun. It’s so inspiring to even be semi-working together — it’s just kind of a full-circle moment. I haven’t gotten to meet her yet, but I’m working every angle I can!
I don’t think my teenage self in Arkansas could have wrapped my head around all this. I would just tell myself: It’s going to be OK. Everything seems so hard in the moment, but it’s going to work out — you’ll find your community.
