Rock Hudson’s lover? Matt Rogers is a ’70s mustache daddy with a gay secret on Palm Royale
Amid the 'Heated Rivalry' madness, don't sleep on Matt Rogers' sizzling guest spot on 'Palm Royale'.
Mark
You went to the cottage, not it’s time to come to the tub!
While the holidays and the Heated Rivalry madness were taking up all your attention, it’s crucial that Matt Rogers’ hilarious and sizzling guest spot on Palm Royale not be overlooked.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Co-starring Kristen Wiig, Ricky Martin, Allison Janney and Carol Burnett, season two of the Apple TV series continues to uncover the deep, dark secrets of the members of Palm Beach’s ritziest country club.
And it also has a lot of eye candy!
Rock Hudson’s secret lover
For episode seven, Rogers lived his ’70s p*rn stache muscle daddy fantasy playing a loud and proud queer man named Bruce who quickly becomes the gay bestie of Wiig’s aspiring socialite Maxine Dellacorte.
The pair first meet up while staying at the gay motel where Maxine is hiding out and Bruce is holding court poolside while waiting to meet up with his secret lover, the one and only – and very well-endowed – Rock Hudson.
Come to the tub!
’70s p*rn stache muscle daddy fantasy
In addition to the mustache, the role required Rogers to don a wig, daisy dukes, a speedo and not much else.
“Before I read the script, they brought me in for a fitting and measured every single inch of my body. I am thinking, they’re probably custom making me a suit. But I show up, and it’s hoochie daddy shorts and a tank top,” the 35-year-old told TV Insider.
“I was not complaining.”
And we can definitely see why . 
The Nancy Reagan of it all
Most of Rogers’ scenes are with Wiig as the duo collaborate to spy on Maxine’s “funeral” (it’s a long story and you should watch the whole season to find out) in which Bruce’s A-list paramour Rock Hudson is set to attend with his best judy Nancy Reagan.
As the hijinks ensue, Rogers as Bruce manages to sneak into the memorial service dressed in drag. And in a foreshadowing moment, the scene leads to Bruce yelling at Reagan for being a fair-weather friend to Hudson.
In real life, Hudson and Reagan were good friends up until when the Hollywood star disclosed his AIDS diagnosis and she refused to help him get treatment. While Nancy’s husband is infamous for his inaction during the early days of the health crisis.
“It was cathartic,” Rogers said of getting to scream at the former first lady. “I was sort of using Bruce as a vessel for me and all the gay men who have something to say and a piece of their mind to give to Nancy Reagan and her husband.”
While Bruce doesn’t get to ride off into the sunset with Rock Hudson, Rogers – who is dating Below Deck star Fraser Olender – was grateful to be able to play a fully out man living as best he could in 1970 America.
“But one thing I loved about this [episode] was we’re showing a vibrant, fun gay community,” the Las Culturistas podcast host told TV Insider.
“Sometimes when we think back on our history, we focus on the trauma that was to come. During quiet moments, I was like, these are sexually active, extroverted gay men in 1970 — what would befall them? But we have an expansive history beyond that.”
While Rogers only appears in episode seven (which also features Andy Cohen’s sidekick John Arthur Hill in a speedo cameo), here’s hoping Bruce returns should the show get renewed for a third season.
New episodes of Palm Royale stream Wednesdays on Apple TV.
Related
“He did have a legendarily large p*nis”: Armistead Maupin shares intimate details about his relationship with Rock Hudson
“He did have a legendarily large p*nis. It wasn’t the prettiest one I’d ever seen, but it was the biggest.”
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