“Adults”' Owen Thiele Recalls His Parents’ Surprising Reaction When He Came Out at 16: ‘Special Human Beings’ (Exclusive)

Alexandra SchonfeldSat, June 13, 2026 at 3:00 PM UTC

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Owen Thiele in December 2025.Credit: Savion Washington/FilmMagic -

Owen Thiele had breakout 2025 TV roles on the series Overcompensating and Adults

The actor was adopted into a White Jewish family as a baby

The upcoming Amazon series Off Color will be based on his own life

Growing up, Owen Thiele didn't have to look far for a captive — and supportive — audience.

The actor, 30, who made a splash last year with roles on the FX series Adults and Prime Video's Overcompensating, says from the time he was a little kid, his parents "nurtured this creative spirit."

"Even when I was dancing alone on tables and other people would beg me to get down, my parents were filming me and telling me to 'Hit a sharper move,' " Thiele tells PEOPLE. "And, 'No, you missed the knee pop,' things like that."

Owen Thiele and his mom.Credit: Owen Thiele/Instagram

Thiele, who was adopted by a White Jewish family as a baby, is putting that loving and supportive upbringing on display in the upcoming series Off Color, which he'll star in, write and co-executive produce.

"It's always fun to show the love that parents can have for a kid, and truly, it's just blind love," he says.

When Thiele came out to his parents at 16, they reacted with such nonchalance, it was as if he had "asked to pass the salt," he recalls

"It was not a big conversation at all. They moved past it and just accepted it, which is so amazing and so rare," he says, adding, "They're special human beings, truly."

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To this day, their support has never waned — in fact, they can't wait for him to get married.

Owen Thiele (left) and Jack Innanen on 'Adults'Credit: Rafy/FX

"They're like, 'When is this gay wedding? When can we come? And when can we dance?,' " says Thiele, who has been dating his boyfriend, celebrity stylist Jared Ellner, for 11 years. "And I'm like, 'Mom, I'm too young for this.' "

Off Color, which Thiele is developing with Amazon, will be "semi-autobiographical," though, as Thiele explains, much of what audiences will see is true.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, the logline reads: "He's gay and Black, they're all Jewish, his mom should be on Real Housewives and his cousin's a former party girl turned Rabbi-in-training. The comedy is about a son who doesn't want to grow up, a mother who has no intention of letting him, and a dad who's probably faking a nap in the other room so he doesn't have to engage."

"I think I mostly legally have to say 'semi,' " Thiele says. "These stories are so insane that you wouldn't actually believe that they were real, even though most of them are. So I think my producers legally want me to say semi, so everybody doesn't think I'm bats--- crazy."

Though a release date has not been made public yet ( "I feel like hopefully soon, for your sake and for mine," he says), Thiele notes that the prospect of putting his story out there into the world is both "horrifying" and "thrilling."

"It's truly a therapy session every time I'm writing it, but in a good way," he says. "I know that's not everyone's journey, and I know I'm so lucky for that. So it's really nice to write about. I find that I love my parents, every time I'm writing the script, more and more."

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”