Gottmik may not have won RuPaul’s Drag Race, but one of her most jaw-dropping looks from the show scored her an enviable audition to play an iconic horror film character.
During the Season 13 finale of the long-running reality show competition, Gottmik dressed in a look inspired by Pinhead, the infamous antagonist of the horror film franchise Hellraiser. Although Gottmik didn’t make it to the final lip-sync battle, her look proved so memorable that the team behind the Hellraiser reboot reached out to have her audition to play the real thing.
“When they saw my Hellraiser [look], they gave the audition for Pinhead,” Gottmik told Entertainment Weekly last week. “I was in my apartment, against the wall, full-on trying to be Pinhead, pretending to pull needles out of my head, just going in! It was so funny!”
But after reading on tape for the role, Gottmik sadly did not book the part. But she maintains there is no bad blood with the Hellraiser production team, chalking it up to not being “menacing enough.” That’s as good a reason as any to lose out on a gig.
“I wanted to be Pinhead more than anything in my soul, but, also, I’m like, I get that!” she explained. “I mean, at least let me walk on the carpet in that look! I’ll make a new one! I just want to be there. I’ll just be in the background next to Pinhead!”
For the uninitiated, the Hellraiser horror franchise started in 1987 with the original film of the same name. The series is based on the novella The Hellbound Heart by openly gay author Clive Barker, who directed the first film. There are 10 Hellraiser movies in total, in addition to the forthcoming remake.
Not too much is known about the Hulu-backed reboot. According to the entertainment website Deadline, director David Bruckner (V/H/S) is directing. Odessa A’Zion (Grand Army) will star in her first major film role.
Although Gottmik won’t be making her big screen debut, she’s had an already groundbreaking year. Gottmik — who uses she/her pronouns in drag and he/him in daily life — is Drag Race’s first openly transgender male contestant and garnered a legion of supporters foe her ornate looks and loveable personality.
Since competing on the show, Gottmik’s career has soared. She appeared on the cover of Attitude in April and even received a shoutout from pop queen Ariana Grande, who tried out one of her makeup looks, the very same month.
In June, Gottmik was named to them.’s Now List 2021 and recounted wanting to see someone like herself on screen during her childhood, only to become the representation she once needed.
“Being the voice I wish I saw in the media, I realized [what it means to] share my story, uplift other trans individuals stories, and be there to listen and support those that need it,” she said at the time. “I won’t be able to solve everyone’s problems, but I can share my own personal authentic experience and break down as many barriers in society as I can to uplift others.”
Being a trailblazer instead of Pinhead? That’s not a bad trade-off.
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