From Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer’s steamy volleyball match in Top Gun to Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy’s intense “dinner dates” in Hannibal, Hollywood has a long history of slipping queer subtext past the censors.
Before we had actual LGBTQ+ representation on screen, these wonderfully gay moments were hiding in plain sight – and once you spot them, you can never unsee them.
Here are some of my absolute favorites that will totally change how you watch these classics.
1. Top Gun Is The Gayest Thing Ever Made
Listen, let’s not kid ourselves about Top Gun. Whatever Tom Cruise says now, this movie is gayer than a pride parade in San Francisco.
I mean, the volleyball scene alone? Director Tony Scott literally admitted he filmed it like a commercial, focusing on those glistening muscles and lingering glances.
The whole Maverick and Iceman situation is basically every enemies-to-lovers fanfic come to life. Val Kilmer chomping his teeth at Tom Cruise in that first scene? Pure flirtation. Their intense locker room face-offs? Sexual tension you could cut with a knife.
The entire dynamic between them reads less like a military rivalry and more like an elaborate courtship ritual.
And when it all leads up to that “You can be my wingman anytime” moment? Chef’s kiss. The fact that this movie was meant to be a military recruitment tool just makes it even better.
2. Stu from Scream Was Totally in Love with Billy
Okay, this one’s a bit darker but stay with me. Remember Stu Macher from Scream? Matthew Lillard played him like a guy so deeply in love with his best friend that he’d literally kill for him.
The whole time he’s following Skeet Ulrich’s Billy around like a lost puppy, desperate for approval.
The writer, Kevin Williamson (who is openly gay), confirmed he based Billy and Stu’s relationship on Leopold and Loeb – the infamous gay killers from the 1920s.
Watch their big reveal scene again – Stu is literally bouncing around like an excited boyfriend, showing off for Billy. His line “Peer pressure. I’m far too sensitive” hits different when you know this context.
Even the cast picked up on it. Neve Campbell has talked about the “burgeoning love relationship” between the characters, and Matthew Lillard loves joking at conventions about how “Stu is super gay.”
The way he constantly seeks Billy’s approval, the physical closeness, that moment where he rests his head on Billy’s shoulder during their villain reveal – it all adds up to some pretty obvious queer coding.
3. The Maltese Falcon’s Not-So-Subtle Joel Cairo
If you want to see how Hollywood coded gay characters in the 1940s, look no further than The Maltese Falcon.
Peter Lorre’s Joel Cairo is a masterclass in getting past the censors while being absolutely obvious to anyone paying attention. I mean, the character literally carries around gardenia-scented calling cards. In the 1940s. Come on.
In the original novel by Dashiell Hammett, Cairo’s sexuality was more explicit, but even with the Production Code in full force, the movie version keeps plenty of hints.
From his impeccably tailored suits to his perfectly maintained nails, Cairo represents every coded gay villain stereotype of the era – but Lorre’s performance adds layers of complexity that make the character more than just a caricature.
4. Ben-Hur: The Greatest Gay Love Story Never Told
Here’s some tea: Gore Vidal, who worked on the screenplay for Ben-Hur, later revealed he wrote the relationship between Judah Ben-Hur and Messala as a love story.
The best part? He told Stephen Boyd (who played Messala) about this subtext, but didn’t tell Charlton Heston. So in every scene, Boyd is playing it as a scorned lover while Heston has no idea.
Watch their reunion scene with this in mind and it takes on a whole new meaning. The intense stares, the lingering touches, the way Messala says “You came back” – it’s basically a romantic reunion until it all goes wrong.
The whole “best friends turned bitter enemies” story hits differently when you realize it’s actually “lovers torn apart by politics and betrayal.”
5. Rope: Hitchcock’s Gay Murder Thriller
Let’s talk about Rope, Alfred Hitchcock’s most daring film when it comes to queer subtext.
Based on the Leopold and Loeb case (yes, them again), the movie follows two men who commit murder to prove their intellectual superiority. But what makes it fascinating is how the film portrays the relationship between Brandon (John Dall) and Phillip (Farley Granger).
These two share an apartment, throw fancy parties together, and are obviously a couple – even by 1948 standards. The whole murder plot plays out like a twisted metaphor for their relationship, with Brandon as the dominant partner pushing Phillip into increasingly dangerous territory.
Even James Stewart’s character, their former teacher Rupert, seems to pick up on the subtext, making his final confrontation with them feel like more than just moral outrage.
6. The Matrix: The Ultimate Trans and Gay Allegory
Look, when both Lana and Lilly Wachowski came out as trans women, suddenly everything about The Matrix made perfect sense.
The whole concept of living in a fake world that doesn’t match who you really are? Fighting against a system that wants you to be something you’re not? Taking pills to transform into your true self? It’s all there.
But beyond the trans allegory, there’s a whole layer of queer coding throughout. Agent Smith with his rigid enforcement of “normalcy,” the leather-clad rebels living their authentic lives, the chosen family aspect of the ship’s crew – it’s a perfect metaphor for breaking free from heteronormative society.
Plus, have you seen those leather outfits? Nobody was dressing like that just for combat effectiveness (not to mention what a gift it was to young gay me, seeing Keanu Reeves in those outfits).
7. Bert and Ernie: Sesame Street’s Original Gay Icons
These two have been living together for over 50 years, sharing a bedroom, taking baths together, and bickering like an old married couple.
While Frank Oz has insisted they’re just friends, former writer Mark Saltzman revealed he always wrote them based on his relationship with his long-term partner.
I mean, they even have matching striped shirts – if that’s not couple goals, what is?
The best part is how their dynamic perfectly captures that specific kind of gay couple we all know: the uptight organized one (Bert) and his chaotic, fun-loving partner (Ernie). So yes, we wore matching Bert and Ernie shirts at my wedding, but I won’t tell you who was who.
They might not be “officially” gay, but they’ve been teaching kids about loving relationships for generations.
8. The Gayest Droids in the Galaxy
C-3PO and R2-D2 from Star Wars are basically a bickering married couple who’ve been together so long they can’t function without each other.
Think about it: they’re constantly arguing but absolutely devoted to each other, they finish each other’s sentences (well, beeps), and they’ve been through every major galactic crisis together.
The way Threepio fusses over Artoo like a worried spouse is absolutely precious. And let’s be honest – the prissy, anxious protocol droid paired with the sassy, adventurous astromech? That’s some classic opposites-attract romance right there.
Anthony Daniels played Threepio with just the right amount of camp to make it work perfectly.
9. The Finn/Poe Romance That Almost Was
This one is a bit annoying, considering it happened in modern times: If you felt the chemistry between Finn and Poe in the new Star Wars trilogy, you weren’t alone.
Oscar Isaac and John Boyega played their scenes with such obvious romantic tension that fans worldwide started shipping them immediately. That first scene where Poe bites his lip while watching Finn wear his jacket? Pure flirtation.
The actors were totally on board too. Oscar Isaac has openly talked about playing it as a romance, and John Boyega kept teasing it in interviews.
Even their reunion hug in The Force Awakens was steamier than most actual love scenes. Sadly, Disney wasn’t ready for a gay Star Wars romance – but in our hearts, StormPilot lives on.
10. Professor X and Magneto: X-Men’s Greatest Love Story
Having Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart play these roles was already pretty gay-iconic casting, but their whole dynamic is basically a decades-long love story.
Two men with opposing worldviews who can’t seem to quit each other? That’s romance, baby.
Their chess games are loaded with tension, their arguments feel like lovers’ quarrels, and they keep coming back to each other despite being on opposite sides.
When they’re played by Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy in the prequels, the sexual tension is cranked up to eleven. That beach divorce scene? Pure heartbreak.
11. Merlin and Arthur: The Gay Romance of Camelot
BBC’s Merlin is basically a medieval romantic comedy disguised as a fantasy show (with hot guys).
Colin Morgan and Bradley James played Merlin and Arthur with so much chemistry it’s ridiculous. The whole “destiny” thing is just code for true love, and you can’t convince me otherwise. Oh, and Merlin has to keep hiding his true identity (of being a… wizard) from everyone. I mean…
Every episode is packed with longing looks, tender moments, and Arthur treating Merlin differently from literally everyone else in Camelot.
Plus, that finale (spoiler warning to a thousands-year-old legend) where Arthur dies in Merlin’s arms saying, “Just hold me”? That’s not friendship, folks – that’s an epic romance, and it ruined Christmas for countless Brits when it first aired.
Plus, some are claiming that Bradley James whispered “I love you” at that moment, to please the fans.
12. Murder Husbands: Will and Hannibal in NBC’s Hannibal
Let’s talk about the most romantic show about cannibalism ever made. Bryan Fuller took Thomas Harris’s characters and turned them into the darkest love story on network TV.
The relationship between Mads Mikkelsen’s Hannibal and Hugh Dancy’s Will Graham is so explicitly romantic that it’s hard to believe this aired on NBC.
Every conversation between them is basically foreplay, their therapy sessions are like dates, and don’t even get me started on all that wine-drinking and elaborate cooking.
The fact that Mads Mikkelsen has said he played Hannibal as completely in love with Will just confirms what we all knew.
13. Dean and Castiel: Supernatural’s Angel-Human Love Story
For 12 years, Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins gave us one of TV’s greatest slow-burn romances. From the moment Castiel said he “gripped Dean tight and raised him from perdition,” their chemistry was off the charts.
The lingering stares, the personal space issues, the profound bond – it was all building to something.
And then it actually happened – Castiel confessed his love to Dean in the final season. Sure, he immediately got sucked into super-hell, but that’s just how things go on Supernatural.
The fact that a show that started as a monster-of-the-week horror series ended up giving us one of TV’s most memorable queer love confessions? That’s growth, baby.
14. Steve and Billy’s Basketball Battle in Stranger Things
When Dacre Montgomery’s Billy showed up in Stranger Things, his obsession with Joe Keery’s Steve went way beyond normal high school rivalry.
That basketball court scene is a masterclass in homoerotic tension – Billy’s aggressive showing off, the intense physical contact, and the way he just couldn’t stop trying to get Steve’s attention.
Their whole dynamic plays like unacknowledged attraction turned to aggression – a classic trope in queer narratives.
Billy’s fixation on Steve, constantly calling him “pretty boy” and seeking him out for a confrontation, reads like textbook repressed attraction.
Even their violent fight scene at the Byers house has more charged energy than most of the show’s actual romantic plots.