Link to the n*de photos

When I was looking for gay actors in Rooster, the MAX comedy with Steve Carell as a trashy novelist roped into becoming Writer in Residence at an elite private college, I identified Jonah Beckett. He gives his pronouns (he/him), which seems to be an LGBTQ identifier, and he says that the godson of Sean Hayes of Will and Grace. No doubt he means the comedic godson.

Besides, he's cute.

In Rooster Episode 1.2, creative writing student Eva states that she writes about "real life," by which she means "(censored)...(censored)...(censored)...Eli!"

She is addressing Eli (Jonah), who has just come in late. "Hey, do you want to (have stuff done to your bottom)?"

"I have asthma!" he exclaims, embarrassed. How would that disqualify you?

"Well, bring your nebulizer." He glares at her and takes a seat.

Later, Rooster attacks his former son-in-law while he is being interviewed on the BBC. Eva, watching in bed on her laptop, laughs and invites Eli to watch. He's lying n*de beside her. Apparently he did want stuff done to his bottom.

It was a hetero act, of course, but if he likes bottom stuff, who's to say he doesn't like it with guys? I'll identify him as bi.

I'll profile Jonah with the standard three questions:

#1: Any (other) LGBTQ Roles?

He has five acting credits listed on the IMDB:

A 2012 episode of the sketch comedy series Sketchy.

The short S*ck Hard (2022): After she is dumped, a girl prepares to return a box of her ex boyfriend's stuff, with the help of her three friends, two girls and a boy (Jonah). Presumably he's gay.

A 2025 episode of The S*x Lives of College Girls. In a subplot, college student Norman (Jonah) keeps complaining to Resident Advisor Bela that the guy in the next dorm room plays his music too loud. He doesn't hear her knocking because he's wearing an Oculus headset -- in his underwear.

The guy in the headset is not mentioned by name, but I've narrowed him down to Danny Max, Derek Chadwick, and Trevor Tordjman (left, n*de on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends).

And a 2025 episode of St. Denis Medical. College student Kyle (Jonah) collapsed during a frisbee game. Doctors Serena and Matt (Mekki Leeper, left) test him for everything, then discover that he faints every time he sees his crush, Jeff (Jeremiah Brown). "Well, tell him how you feel," they advise.

He was just shy?

At least two gay roles on screen. Let's check Jonah's theatrical work.

More after the break

It turns out that Sean Hayes is Jonah's literal godfather. His Mom Carrie Aizley (left) has worked with Sean on Lazy Susan, the sketch show Wigs & Bananas, and the podcast Smartless Presents Clueless, and they founded the video game company Dreambo together.

Dad Kevin Newstadt is a podcaster, and younger brother Sammy an aspiring actor.

Jonah grew up as Jonah Newstadt in Santa Monica. As a student at the Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences, he performed in many shows, including Putnam County Spelling Bee, Urinetown, Oklahoma, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The Wiz.

When he was a senior, Jonah and Levi Port started a podcast, Everyone's a Bad Writer. They interviewed gay actor Tim Bagley and School Spirits star Milo Manheim, criticized Levi's story "Aetius the Gladiator," asked their English teacher to read a horrible poem. And they took a shower.

Left: Milo. Backside on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends

After graduating in 2020, Jonah and Levi enrolled at NYU, where they started the podcast Friends of Besties: they introduced celebrities like Tig Notaro, Michael Hitchcock, and his godfather Sean Hayes to their friends, hoping that they would become besties.

Plus Jonah appeared in more plays, including The Two Gentlemen of Verona and the gay-themed Spring Awakening, wrote and starred in Bartholomew: A Musical Tale (self-aggrandized as "Better than Shakespeare and Hamilton combined"), and was the musical director for Pop-Peii, -- a musical about the volcano that erupted, burying the town of Pompeii in hot ash and killing everyone?

He received a BFA in Drama n 2024.