One of the most talked-about and controversial scenes at the Cannes Film Festival in recent years came in 2021, when Simon Rex sprinted across the screen completely naked—fleeing a gang of drug dealers and showcasing particularly impressive physical attributes.
The moment was part of Red Rocket, directed by Sean Baker (Anora), and it sparked debate over whether Rex’s anatomy was real or the work of a prop department.
At a post-premiere press conference in Cannes, a bold journalist asked Rex directly whether he had exposed his true self or used a prosthetic. "I’m not answering the penis question," Rex shot back. "I’d rather keep it a mystery." In a rare moment of levity for the typically serious festival, the event's moderator replied, "Oh, we’re very disappointed."
A few months later, Rex admitted it was indeed a prosthetic. Regardless, Red Rocket proved a turning point for his career, earning him numerous nominations and awards. Since 2021, he hasn’t stopped working. The actor, who turned 50 this summer, first rose to fame as a rapper, MTV host and star of the Scary Movie franchise—but now he’s staging an impressive comeback, seemingly everywhere.
In the coming year, Rex will appear in several films and in the second season of Natasha Lyonne’s acclaimed series Poker Face, produced by Ram Bergman. At Sundance Film Festival, he premiered Magic Farm, a sci-fi film in which he stars alongside Chloë Sevigny.
Beyond these projects, Rex also showcases his talents in HBO’s It's Florida, Man, where Florida residents share bizarre, outrageous personal stories, reenacted by actors. He has also returned to hosting, leading the IndieWire Awards ceremony, where honorees included Jennifer Lopez and Selena Gomez. “The main reason I’m here is that my agent can’t say no to anything,” he joked in his opening speech.
When we met at a lively beachfront restaurant in Cannes, Rex admitted he was thrilled by his career resurgence. “Since Red Rocket, I’ve been working on unique projects, and I’m incredibly grateful,” he said. “Thankfully, I’ve grown and changed—after 25 years in the industry, I finally feel confident in my acting and creativity. I’m making the right moves.”
What do you think of the term "comeback" being associated with you?
“In America, we love watching someone rise—then fail. And then we love watching them come back. Americans love the cycle. It’s just more interesting.”
At 50, Rex feels ready to commit fully to his craft. “In the past, I was distracted by women and parties, always chasing pleasure. But for the first time in my life, I’m focused on creating meaningful work—and on humility. It took me a long time to become a ‘good Jewish man’” (a phrase he uses on his Instagram bio), “but I’m finally there. There’s still this part of me that wants to rebel, but now I have control.”
Can you elaborate on the distractions?
“I lived in Hollywood, surrounded by beautiful women and endless parties. I’d show up to auditions hungover—I wasn’t taking my work seriously. As I got older, my body and mind just couldn’t keep up with that lifestyle anymore. So I told myself, ‘Okay, it’s time to grow up.’ I’m lucky to be a working actor, and now all my energy is focused on my craft.”
Looking back, do you have any regrets?
“If I had done things differently, I wouldn’t be here now, so I guess the answer is no. Of course, I’ve hurt people, and I’ve been hurt too. I’ve made plenty of mistakes—but I’ve learned from them. In the end, everything led me to this moment, so I’m at peace with my regrets.”
'Charlie Sheen's tour was an insane circus'
Following Rex’s life feels like riding a roller coaster. Born in San Francisco, he has Jewish roots on his mother’s side—something that has recently become important to him. “I’ve been learning a lot about my Ashkenazi-Lithuanian heritage. I grew up with hippie parents who didn’t really raise me, so the older I get, the more curious I am about my family’s past. I want to visit Israel and Lithuania one day—I need to learn about my heritage!”
How did your unique childhood shape your personality?
“My personality is simply the result of being an only child. My parents divorced when I was two, and my stepfather was an alcoholic. I grew up alone, so I had to entertain myself—I spent all day making myself laugh. Maybe that’s why I still live alone.”
Rex worked as a forklift operator at a potato packaging plant, had a relationship with a Penthouse model—a single mother of a two-year-old—and moved into a one-bedroom apartment with her in Oakland, California. A year later, in 1993, the 19-year-old Rex saw a newspaper ad looking for models. He responded and ended up posing nude in Los Angeles. Under the name "Sebastian," he also appeared in solo scenes for gay adult films. “At the time, I was so young and dumb that I thought it was cool. At 18, you don’t make great decisions.”
"I’ve been learning a lot about my Ashkenazi-Lithuanian heritage. I grew up with hippie parents who didn’t really raise me, so the older I get, the more curious I am about my family’s past. I want to visit Israel and Lithuania one day—I need to learn about my heritage"
What did your Jewish mother think about your adult film work?
“Oh, she wasn’t thrilled, but she’s happy with where I am today. My mom is a cool hippie. She always told me, ‘Do what you want; you don’t have to go to college or join the army if you don’t want to. Just follow your heart.’ So that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.”
One day, while accompanying his model girlfriend to an audition, a casting agent noticed Rex. The next day, he was on a flight to Milan, launching a modeling career. With his muscular frame and blue eyes, he quickly landed work with major brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Versace and Levi’s.
In 1995, Rex was hired as a VJ for MTV, which was at its peak. “For me, being an MTV VJ was amazing. You met everyone. This was before social media and the Internet, so everything went through MTV. Rappers, rock stars, athletes, actors promoting their movies—MTV was the place to be, and I met them all. I interviewed Madonna on the red carpet. I met Tupac and Jackie Chan. I became part of that world.”
Then, suddenly, you were fired after two years.
“One day, I got a call saying the network had let go of four VJs at once—they would do these ‘house cleanings’ and fire a bunch of us at the same time. Honestly, it was a blessing. It kept me from getting stuck in the hosting industry.”
Shortly after, the recently unemployed Rex was invited by director Gus Van Sant to audition for Good Will Hunting. “I read with Matt Damon for a small role, but honestly, my audition was terrible. Gus told me, ‘You’re not ready to act, but you should go to drama school because you’ve got something.’ So I actually went.”
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It paid off. In 1999, Rex landed a role on the comedy series Jack & Jill, starring Amanda Peet. He played Mikey Russo, a fast-talking bartender. Guest roles followed on Felicity, Baywatch and more. Then, in 2003, Rex joined Scary Movie 3, the latest installment of the hit horror parody franchise. He went on to appear in two more Scary Movie films, which expanded his audience and padded his bank account.
Not content with acting alone, Rex and two friends jokingly launched a rap career under the name Dirt Nasty. They even opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers on tour. His travels across the U.S. and abroad, however, hurt his acting career.
Along the way, Rex made appearances in music videos, including Kesha’s massive hit Tik Tok, and in 2011, he joined Charlie Sheen’s infamous live tour. Sheen, his Scary Movie 3 co-star, was at the height of his public meltdown. “It was an insane circus. A total shit show. Charlie just rambled nonsense. The audience was shouting, ‘Give us our money back.’”
'I always believed in myself, but I don’t think anyone else saw it'
Rex’s eclectic career has seen its ups and downs, often due to the same “distractions”—parties, women and all that jazz—that he openly acknowledges. It’s no surprise he has occasionally landed in the tabloids. He was once rumored to have had a romance with Paris Hilton, with whom he appeared in a film. Rex denied it, saying they were “just friends who held hands.” But his most infamous brush with scandal came in 2020 and involved none other than Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex.
“A British tabloid offered me a ton of money to do an interview claiming I had slept with Meghan, who I had worked with nearly 20 years earlier on the show Cuts,” Rex recalled. “I said no. The story got out anyway, and then one day, I got this fancy letter in my mailbox from ‘The House of Windsor.’ I was like, ‘The House of Windsor?’ I opened it, and inside was a handwritten note: ‘Simon, my husband and I want to thank you. The media has been destroying our lives for a long time, and you did the right thing. We truly appreciate your integrity; it means so much to us.’”
Rex framed the letter. “It’s from Meghan Markle! In her handwriting! It was totally surreal, but I felt good about doing the right thing. I could have lied and made easy money—everyone else does.”
Since then, Prince Harry and Meghan have gone through plenty of turmoil.
“That’s the problem with fame, right? Too much attention can be dangerous. Harry and Meghan are at the very top of that pyramid. They can’t live normal lives, and honestly, I feel bad for people at that level. I don’t envy them. It’s sad.”
Maybe it’s that aversion to the pitfalls of fame that led Rex to settle in Joshua Tree, deep in California’s Mojave Desert.
Why on earth did you choose to live in the desert?
“I lived in Los Angeles for 20 years. Have you ever been there?”
Yes, a few times.
“Well, then you get it. If you lived there for 20 years, you might not love it so much either. I was just over it. Everyone in L.A. is there for one reason—to make it in entertainment and get famous. Everyone’s ‘working on a movie.’ Your Uber driver hands you a script, your waiter says, ‘Hey, be in my film.’ It’s exhausting. The city is one-dimensional. I wanted to live somewhere with real people.
“After years in noisy, overstimulating cities, I moved to the middle of nowhere for peace and quiet. In the desert, I can decompress, recharge and unwind. I work on scripts, go for runs and enjoy the silence. And when I need to, I can drive two hours to L.A. for meetings—it’s perfect. After a shoot, I retreat to my place in the desert for a week or two, reset and then head back into the human zoo.”
Rex credits much of his career resurgence to director Sean Baker, who cast him in Red Rocket. The film follows Mikey Saber (played by Rex), a washed-up porn star who returns to his Texas hometown, crashes at his ex-wife’s house—herself a former adult film actress—and starts dealing drugs. He also falls for a 17-year-old girl and dreams of making her the next big adult film star.
“In the summer of 2020, at the height of COVID, Sean Baker reached out to me directly—not through an agent or manager—and offered me the lead role. At the time, everything felt upside down, like the world was ending, like a weird dream. His offer fit the strange reality we were living in. I knew it was a great opportunity, even though Sean made it clear this was going to be a low-budget, guerrilla-style film.”
Rex connected with his character, though not necessarily because of the porn industry angle. “Sean told me, ‘I cast you for your talent, but your background in the industry didn’t hurt.’ But honestly, Mikey Saber could’ve been in any profession—it’s not just about porn. He’s a sleazy hustler, a total scumbag. And I see guys like that all the time in Hollywood. They’re everywhere—I’m sure they exist in your industry, too.”
The film is set during the 2016 presidential race, and Rex sees parallels between his character and Donald Trump. “They’re both unhinged American narcissists. Trump is just a symptom of a bigger problem—America, capitalism and greed. Mikey is the same way; he just doesn’t have Trump’s level of success.”
For Rex, Red Rocket was a transformative experience. “It changed my life. People started seeing me differently and respecting me as a real actor, not just a funny guy. I always believed in myself, but I don’t think anyone else saw it. The phone just wasn’t ringing.”
After Red Rocket, the phone hasn’t stopped ringing. He’s been flooded with offers, but he still chooses his roles based on instinct. “I pick films based on one thing only: Would I, my family and my friends want to watch this? Even after Red Rocket, instead of taking a bad lead role, I sometimes chose a small part in a great movie. I’ve passed up a lot of money that way. For years, I had the bad luck of making movies nobody liked, but now I get to choose projects based on the script, the filmmaker and the cast.”
You also look great. What’s the secret?
“Healthy eating and push-ups. Since I spend a lot of time in hotel rooms, I do push-ups, go for a run and stay away from parties.”
"My Jewish mother sits at home glued to the news all day, and it stresses her out. I had to tell her, ‘Mom, stop watching the news, and you’ll be less anxious.’ Right now, the U.S. is incredibly violent, with severe mental health issues. I know parents who don’t want to send their kids to school because of rising violence"
At 50, Rex is also focused on repairing his relationship with his father. “My dad left when I was two, and he was never really around. But in recent years, we’ve grown closer after a long time apart. I want to break the cycle of generational trauma and improve our relationship, so I try to see him as much as possible—before it’s too late.”
Life in hotels and the desert, along with hitting the half-century mark, has made him reflect on America today—and he has plenty of thoughts. “In my circle, I have friends from both sides—Democrats and Republicans—who are culturally very different. We live in an extremely divided country, and personally, I like both sides. I think there are good and bad people on each. Right now, America is losing its mind at both extremes, so I’d rather sit back, watch everyone go crazy, take notes and not get involved.”
And what have you taken away from that observation?
“The big question is: Is the American Dream dead? It’s possible. Maybe it’s dying, or maybe it’s part of a cycle—who knows, maybe it’ll come back to life, or maybe we’re in the middle of the American Nightmare.”
“I’ve always said the American Dream is the American Nightmare—everyone is chasing the wrong things. Our culture is hyper-macho and narcissistic, and you’re expected to buy a house, follow certain rules and do things I don’t agree with. But at the same time, the beauty of America is that you can choose your own path. I went in the opposite direction from what was expected.”
Rex avoids watching the news. “My Jewish mother sits at home glued to the news all day, and it stresses her out. I had to tell her, ‘Mom, stop watching the news, and you’ll be less anxious.’ Right now, the U.S. is incredibly violent, with severe mental health issues. I know parents who don’t want to send their kids to school because of rising violence. Every empire falls, and maybe we’re witnessing the beginning of the end for America. And maybe that’s not such a bad thing. I just hope it’s all part of a cycle and that things will eventually return to some kind of normal.”