Missing nonbinary Netflix actor is found ‘badly concussed’ after family’s frantic search
A non-binary Netflix star who went missing over the weekend has been found with unspecified injuries, their partner has revealed.
Reports stating that 31-year-old politician star Theo Germaine was missing surfaced on William Rusan’s Instagram account around 2am on Sunday.
Rusan, an actor himself and based in Chicago, has described the developing situation as an “emergency” while providing some cryptic clues as to what may have happened.
He said his partner – who appeared in LGBTQ films with Kevin Bacon – missing since late Saturday afternoon ‘with symptoms of traumatic brain injury.
“They are disoriented and their phones are not charged,” the Illinois actor wrote, providing few details.
“This is what they look like,” he added, using his partner’s preferred pronouns as he shared a recent photo of the two.
“If you see them, DM me, call me…or their mom…immediately. Thank you and my apologies for the alarm. Concussions are scary.”
Within six hours, Rusan would broadcast another update, revealing that the streaming star had been found. He still gave no details, but said they were safe but still had “a severe concussion.” Some other details were also provided.
Theo Germaine, a non-binary Netflix star who shot to fame in 2019 thanks to a starring role in Netflix’s The Politician, went missing early Sunday morning before being found with unspecified injuries, their friend revealed
The details were revealed on Sunday by Germaine’s friend William Rusan, who labeled the developing situation an “emergency” while providing some cryptic clues as to what may have happened.
“Another update with the intensely satisfying news that Theo was found with a severe concussion, cold and out of sorts, but otherwise unharmed,” Rusan wrote around 8 a.m.
‘The family here cannot thank everyone enough for your help and well wishes.
“Please note that as Theo receives treatment and recovers from this incident, their ability to use screens will be temporarily impaired,” the Work in Progress actor wrote.
‘They may not be able to reach everyone quickly.
“This post will be archived tomorrow afternoon once people are aware that the emergency is over,” he continued, before sharing another update on the discovery on Facebook.
He first thanked “the community that showed up for” his wife and called the response “incredible,” before warning that “privacy will promote healing.”
He wrote on Facebook how he was ‘grateful and relieved to report that’ Germaine was home safely, adding that the actor was currently ‘under doctor’s care’.
“They have a bad concussion and will probably struggle with fencing for a week or two (for those who have and will), but otherwise they are healthy,” Rusan said again. “The whole family really appreciates everyone’s concern.”
Reports saying the 31-year-old was missing in Chicago surfaced on Rusan’s Instagram account around 2 a.m. Sunday
Within six hours, Rusan – also an actor – reported that his partner had been found, albeit in poor condition
It remains unclear what happened, with Rusan asking that the public respect his partner’s privacy
At the time of writing, no other information has been shared and the circumstances surrounding the actor’s disappearance remain intensely shrouded.
They rose to fame in 2019 after starring in Netflix’s The Politician, as a transgender character who uses their own pronouns but never explicitly refers to their gender identity.
“He’s just a high school student who gets to live his life and the story is about trying to get his friend to win the election,” Germaine, who was born female, told Marie Claire at the time.
They went on to have major roles in Showtime’s Work in Progress – alongside their friend – and the 2022 slasher film They/Them, which centers on an LGBTQ conversion therapy camp and also stars Bacon.
At one point, Germaine identified as transgender, they told Vogue in 2020 — recalling how they spent their late teens as men before finally deciding, “F*ck all this” and identifying as non-binary.
“It’s not exciting to be limited to playing a select few trans characters that Hollywood decides are acceptable to put in the industry,” they said at the time, describing how they came to the decision.
“I want me and all my friends to have access to the same opportunities that every white cisgender male actor has.”
That same year, Germaine recalled on the LGBTQ&A podcast how her struggles with gender identity date back to her days as a toddler in a conservative Illinois town.
Germaine – born female in a conservative Illinois town – rose to fame in 2019 after starring in The Politician as a transgender character who uses his/her pronouns
They’re seen here on the set of the Today show in 2022, alongside They/Them co-stars Anna Chlumsky and Kevin Bacon
No other information regarding their current condition – and the incident that preceded it – has been provided. It remains unclear what happened
“I joke and tell people that my first memories are The Lion King and gender dysphoria,” they said at the time.
“I remember when I was three years old and I was in daycare and we were all laying on our mats trying to take a nap, and I remember I couldn’t sleep because I was always just sitting there thinking about gender .’
They now live close to home in Chicago, after moving there from LA in 2019.
According to Germaine’s official talent profile: ‘When they’re not working, they spend their time learning a new skill, listening to metal, watching Star Trek, or imagining a new, queer, trans future of the entertainment industry .’
No other information has been provided regarding their current condition – and the incident that preceded it.