Gerran Howell: The hot doc from "The Pitt" plays a vampire, troubled teens, and Ozma's boyfriend, speaks Welsh, drops his trousers.

 

Link to the n*de photos

If you've been watching The Pitt on MAX, about emergency room staff and patients, you've certainly noticed Dennis Whitaker.  The fourth-year medical student moved to Pittsburgh from a farm in Broken Bow, Nebraska, which causes a lot of derision from the big city doctors, and got a degree in theology before going to med school. Don't you need a lot of courses in biology and chemistry?   He gets squelchy scenes where he is splashed with the body fluids squirting out of patients, but also heart-tugging scenes where he establishes an emotional connection with a dying patient.

So far Dennis hasn't expressed a romantic interest in anyone, although fans on the Pitt Reddit eagerly pair him with Nurse Kim, because she offered to find him new scrubs after a patient ur*nated on him, or the wife of a dying burn victim whom he comforts.

Plus when Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) is treating the victims of a mass shooting, he flashes back to treating COVID victims and the death of his beloved mentor and has a panic attack.  Dennis helps him out, and the two hold hands.  About 1,700 fan stories on Archive of Our Own move the relationship forward into romance (and explicit s*xual activity).

Noah Wyle n*de on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends.

That's enough to warrant researching the actor, Gerran Howell.

Well, being 5'7" and exceptionally cute helps.

Turns out that Gerran is not Nebraskan, he's Welsh, born in Barry a resort town near Cardiff, in 1991.  He's bilingual in the Welsh language, and got to speak it as a fan service during Season 2 of The Pitt.

Nice swimsuit, mate.

After attending Barry Comprehensive School, Gerran studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.  His first on-screen roles came in 2006, in a PSA about the dangers of swimming in the Welsh Reservoir and the short Mummy's Boy, about a boy traumatized by his brother's death. 

Next he starred in Young Dracula (2006-2013), as the teenage Vlad, The Chosen One (of course) who moves from Transylvania to Wales with his family.  According to the episode synopses, he may have gotten a few gay-subtext buddy-bonds along with the usual assortment of girlfriends.  

The role brought Gerran a lot of fame in Britain: talk-show interviews, cooking on Blue Peter, a tutorial on how to spot a vampire.

In The Spartacle Mysteries (2011-15), everyone over age 15 is zapped into a parallel dimension.  It's up to the kids to survive -- and bring them home. So, was it a one-time deal, or does everyone who turns 16 zap over?  Gerran plays Ernesto, the leader of a rebel gang who doesn't want the adults back: the world is better and safer without them.  He gets a girlfriend.

Emerald City, the dreary, depressing take on the Wizard of Oz mythos (2016-17), stars Oliver Jackson-Cohen (n*de on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends) as Dorothy Gale's boyfriend.  Gerran plays Jack (based on Jack Pumpkinhead), who helps Tip escape from the witch Mombi, and falls in love with her after she turns into a girl. But she's not into him.  Being into trans women makes him a LGBT ally.

More after the break

Marcel Ruiz: "One Day at a Time" boy grows up, plays gay guys, wears dresses, kisses girls. You figure him out. With Lucas backside and Jackson junk

Link to the n*de photos

When I was in high school, Tuesday night meant Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, and One Day at a Time (1975-84).   a "hip sitcom" with divorced mom Anne Romano (Bonnie Franklin) moving from small-town Logansport to Indianapolis to raise her kids: rebellious Julie, popular Barbara, and eventually the exceptionally femme Alex (Glenn Scarpelli).  Building handyman Schneider popped in all the time.

The theme song brings me back to those nights, sitting in the living room with my parents and brother and sister, doing my homework on a clipboard. No matter what problems I was facing outside, with screaming preachers and sadistic teachers and the constant refrain of "what girl do you like?", I was safe here.

This is it (this is it); this is life, the one you get, so go and have a ball.
This is it (this is it): straight ahead, and rest assured, you can't be sure at all.
So while you're here, enjoy the view, keep on doin' what you do.
Hang on tight, we'll muddle through -- one day at a time.

In 2017, a re-imagining appeared on Netflix, only to be cancelled, moved to Pop and TVLand, and cancelled again in 2020.  It was a re-imagining because it had nothing to do with the original series except for the title, the theme song, and characters named Alex and Schneider.  Here they are a Hispanic family living in Echo Park, Los Angeles: army nurse Lupe; social activist Elena; and popular Alex (Marcel Ruiz).  Grandma Rita Moreno pops in frequently.

I watched an episode out of curiosity, but didn't like it.  Mostly ladies; no cute guys (Todd Grinnell as Schneider was not my type). And why did they keep the name Alex but remove his gay coding?  

Besides, watching on my laptop in my home office in 2017 was just not the same as watching in the living room surrounded by my family in 1977.

Then I saw Isabella Gomez and Marcel Ruiz (who played Elena and Alex) in a video for the It Gets Better project.  Isabella talks about how Elena struggles with coming out as a queer Latinx woman, and starts dating the nonbinary Syd.  "Normalizing lesbian and nonbinary identities on tv plays an important role in creating acceptance in real life."  Marcel adds that if your family doesn't accept you, there are others who do. You can find a chosen family.  "It gets better. Just keep going through life everyday."  Not "one day at a time"?

Isabella plays a queer character, but why is Marcel there?  Alex is straight.  You're looking quite femme in that outfit, buddy. Are you gay in real life, like the original? 

Time for a profile.

Marcel was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2003.  His mother, Mariem Pérez Riera, is an Emmy-winning director known for her biography of Rita Morena (not coincidentally, grandma on One Day at a Time). His father, Carlitos Ruíz Ruíz, is a "photographer, storyteller, and filmmaker" known for Maldeamores (2007), about a love triangle.

For someone born into a family of film makers, Marcel doesn't have a lot of acting gigs listed on the IMDB.  His career starts with an episode of Snowfall (2017), a tv series about the cocaine panic in Los Angeles in the early 1980.  Damson Idris (n*de on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends) stars as a drug dealer.  Marcel plays a young Sandanista operative spying on the CIA in Nicaragua. He gets killed.  

His first starring role was in Breakthrough (2019): When a boy with the crazily Anglo name John Smith (Marcel) drowns in a lake, his Mom prays that he will be brought back "from the brink of death."  Did he die or almost die?  

Josh Lucas (n*de on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends) plays the boy's Dad, and Topher Grace of That 70s Show plays the megachurch pastor.  

Marcel apparently belongs to a megachurch in real life, too.

Sounds Christian, which means homophobic, but Topher Grace went on to star in Home Economics (2021-23), and Marcel, to One Day at a Time (2017-20).  Both of their characters have gay sisters.  Go figure.

 Marcel has only two post-Days roles:

A Bad Bunny music video, Baile inolvidable (Unforgettable dance, 2025).  A lot of male-female couples dance while their friends cheer them on.  

And the short Telaraña (2025) : The teenage Naomi faces the "disturbing truth" about her family, involving a giant spider (araña).  Marcel plays her brother Lolo.

Plus two upcoming projects.

Summer of Three (filming completed in 2026): After his father's death, Javi (Marcel) returns to Puerto Rico, where he becomes involved in a love triangle with Luife (Paolo Schone) and his girlfriend Kiki.  I can't tell from the plot description and photos if the two men are competing for the lady, or if all three fall in love. 

More after the break

Dean Petriw: Child actor turned fifth Walter Boy turned business major, old enough for beefcake and potential d*ck photos.

Link to the n*de dudes

My Life with the Walter Boys (2023-26) sends a New York girl to a ranch in Colorado, where she lives with the seven "Walter boys" and their parents (and a baby sister).  She falls in love with Cole and Alex, helps Nathan come out, pushes her way into the soap-opera problems of Will and Danny...

And babysits Jordan (Drew Petriw) and Benny.

If we include Dad (Marc Blucas, backside on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends) and a seemingly endless stream of cousins, coworkers, classmates, buddies, and love interests, the number of hunks skyrockets.

So why did I decide to profile Dean Petriw? 

1. I've already checked the other brothers, and they're either straight or have no beefcake photos online, or both.

2. Aspiring filmmaker Jordan doesn't display any hetero interest, so he can be found gay by omission.

3. He has an unusual last name.  It's of Ukrainian or Polish origin.

N*de Ukrainian dude and potential Dean on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends

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4. He's nearly 19, enough for beefcake photos and even n*de photos.

Dean was born in Vancouver on July 4, 2008 (which is not a big deal in Canada), and started acting in commercials at age four.  His on-screen acting begins in 2015 with an episode of Falling Skies.

On a 2016 episode of Once Upon a Time, he played the young Baelfire, son of a pre-magic Rumpelstiltskin, and the father of Chosen One Henry Mills. Other Baelfires are played by Brandon Spink and Michael Raymond-James.

He also played a kid opposite Dolph Lundgren in Kindergarten Cop 2 (2016), and played the young Luke (Jonathan Whitesell as an adult) in Beyond (2016).

More after the break

It Gets Worse: Cute Gen Z gay guy with self-esteem issues, two girlfriends, a weird interest, and a hunky sort-of boyfriend.

Link to the n*de photos

It Gets Worse (2026) is a new Britcom with gay characters on Paramount Plus, but hidden, invisible in "New Shows" and "Your Recommendations."  

Actually, I'm surprised to find a show with gay characters at all on the super-conservative streamer. I can't wait it to see how they portray the gay guy.

Ac, I found It Gets Worse (2026), a Britcom hidden on the super-conservative Paramount Plus o we skipped over it.  Today I looked for it again to review, but couldn't find it among the new shows on any of our streaming services.  Finally I had to ask Google AI: It Gets Worse (2026), on the super-conservative Paramount Plus, hidden so you have to search to find it. 

What are they doing in a gay bar in a hidden series on Paramount Plus?  This should be good. 

Episode 1, Scene 1: The Narrator tells us that Ethan (Leo Reich) has one of the easiest lives in human history, he has just met a guy in the park (gay identity revealed immediately), and he has lowered his screen time to six hours a day.  But, as he tells his therapist, he has this overwhelming feeling of hopelessness.  At least you live in Britain.  Imagine the gloom and despair here in the fascist state.

He just wanted to live in a crappy flat with the loves of his life, get drunk every night, and have nothing to worry about for ten years.  Is that too much to ask?  

Therapist: "Yes."

But they were kicked out of that flat, and they can't move into the new one for three weeks, so he's staying with this guy named Jesse, who is an awful person, which makes him hot.  Also his biceps, though I hate it when a guy flexes in the middle of the act.

"I wouldn't want to fuck somebody I respect...Life is hard, so woe is me.  Maybe everything is already over."  Try fucking someone you respect.

Suddenly the therapist (Andrew Scott) kisses him!  "Sorry, I have a real client in about 15 minutes, so..."  So this was like a f*tish scene?

"You're fine, you're valid.  Now open up for Daddy." He spits in Ethan's mouth. WTF?

Scene 2: Ethan shows his female flatmates, aka the loves of his life, the hole he accidentally made in his bedroom wall, trying to put up a picture with a drill.  They tell him that the landlady is coming by tomorrow, so he needs to fix it or they won't get their deposit back.  Girl, you never get that deposit back.  The landlady always finds some incredibly picky reason to keep it.

Cut to Ethan trying to pack and telling his flatmates about the plans for tonight:  booze, cocaine, and hit the club around 11:00.  They insist that he fix the hole first.

In other news, they need proof of income for their new place.  Flatmate Sam (a girl)  doesn't have a real job, and Ethan? "It's not my fault I got fired for using my phone too much."  Flatmate Abbi says that she'll get the pay stubs from her job.

They're glad that at least Ethan got a guy.  "We didn't do the bottom stuff, though.  It hurts.  I'm never going to get slammed by a huge monster c*ck!"  I heard that, brother.  Who wants to shove a telephone pole up there?  That's what mouths are for.

"Have you told your boyfriend Jesse that you're getting with other guys?"

"No, our relationship is casual, so it's assumed."

The two loves' romantic history:

Flatmate Abi is dating Tom, who won't do anything with her because he has a low libido.

Flatmate Sam had an ex-girlfriend who cheated on her, but she was unaware.  Until now.

Scene 3: Ethan and his mum drive his stuff -- in garbage bags -- to Boyfriend Jesse's flat.  Jesse (Arian Nik) comes out shirtless, which annoys Mum, but: "I'm so happy that Ethan finally has a boyfriend." 

"Um...he's not my boyfriend," Jesse tells her.

Mum is shocked;: "Ethan!  It's not safe to live with someone you don't know. He could be a scammer or a mad axe murderer."

"He's joking," Ethan insists. "We're very serious.  We're trying to have a baby."

When she leaves, Ethan asks Jesse to carry in his stuff, because he has to go.  

"I can't. I'm in the middle of..."

"Thanks.  I love you."

"Stop saying that!"

Scene 4: Straight Flatmate Abi and her boyfriend Tom (Sean Delaney) worry about telling the others the big news.  But at least they're happy: "We did it. We finessed life.  Endgame."  They kiss eight times -- I counted.  I thought you had a low libido?   

Then he has to leave for bouldering (indoor rock climbing without ropes or harnesses).

More after the break