I've been watching Best Medicine (2026), about a curmudgeonly doctor in small-town Maine, where there are at least three gay characters: Greg and George, who run the only restaurant in town; and sarcastic high school student Liam. But could there be four? How about 10-year old Peter Cronk, played by Ben Lewis Doherty?
Episode 5: The kid wants to stay after to help teacher Louisa, so the other kids make fun of him, thinking that he has a crush on her. He denies it. A denial of heterosexual interest.
Later he tries to "fit in" by putting a whole apple in his mouth, and can't get it back out again. Doc Martin cuts it ou, and tells him don't bother trying to fit in, just be yourself. The oral fixation and the "be yourself."
Episode 7: On Halloween, the townsfolk put on a haunted house called the Blood Factory. Peter hates it: he gets so scared that he wets his bed. Doc Martin suggests that he face his fears, so he dresses as a vampire. And bonds with a buddy.
Episode 8: Peter is rather swishy as he criticizes Elaine's true crime podcast. (Femme behavior).
Cameraman Al calls Elaine watches Elaine's true crime podcast. Afterwards, her cameraman Al (Carter Shimp, right) calls her his girlfriend, and she shoots him down: "We're frisky friends, that's all." Hurt, he quits.
"What's a frisky friend?" Peter asks. Lack of awareness of hetero-romance terminology.
Episode 10: Trying to spend time with Doc Martin, Peter comes in every day with invented symptoms, and invites himself along on his birdwatching date with Louisa. Are you looking for a father figure, or do you have a little crush on the Doc?
Later, he complains of a stomach ache, but Doc Martin thinks he's faking -- until the pain spreads to his shoulder, and his spleen ruptures! Tense scenes in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
Episode 12: Peter asks Doc Martin to come to his school presentation on Norway, since his mom works and his dad doesn't care about him. Doc Martin says he's too busy, but shows up anyway. Peter is overjoyed, and hugs him. More crush potential.
Episode 13: Peter is the ring bearer at the wedding of Greg and George. The teenagers attend the weddding, but he's the only child, suggesting a special affinity with the gay guys.
At the reception, he sits at Doc Martin's table as if he's the Doc's Plus One.
It's probably not canonical, but it's enough to check out the other work of the 11-year old actor.
Ben Lewis Doherty lives in Massachusetts, where he began modeling and acting at age six (five years ago). His first role was in the short Weighted (2020): Macauley (Hudson Koonce) longs for the times when he lifted weights with his dad, before MS took its toll, so he strives for one last bench press. Ben plays the young Macauley, and the cast includes bodybuilders George Sandalakis (left), Ismail Bronson, and David Arquilla (top photo).
Nice company for your first acting role, kid.
Next Ben appeared in Haze (2024): Joe, a young journalist (Cole Dolman), returns home after rehab, uncovers the secrets of the town's psychiatric center, and gets a boyfriend (Brian J. Smith, nude after the break). Ben plays the young Joe.
A gay character, already! Things are looking good for you, buddy. Plus you're already buddying up to hot guys like Cameron Matheson.
More after the break. Caution: Explicit.
As promised, Brian J. Smith nude.
Task (2025): FBI agent Brandis tries to capture the "family man" Robbie Prendergrast (Tom Pelphrey), who is responsible for a series of violent robberies. See, a man who has reproduced is always considered noble and virtuous, so having him commit crimes is shocking; but he's actually being forced into it, because -- family man. Raul Castillo plays Cliff, his coworker and gay-subtext boyfriend.
Left: Tom Pelphrey. To paraphrase Seinfeld, "it's not real, but it's spectacular."
Ben plays the son of Breaker (Dominic Colón), a member of fentanyl-dealing biker gang.Gay actor Dominic Colon has 61 acting credits, plus he wrote eight episodes of Boots, about a gay Marine in the 1990s; the short Skin, about a guy who may lose his boyfriend because he refuses to take his shirt off for sex; and Prom Night, where a gay high school boy struggles to tell his crush that he's interested.
Dominic seems to be mentoring Ben off-camera. Here he suggests the Adventures in Time series for on-set educational reading
Ben's most recent acting roles are in Best Medicine (2026) and the short Smoked (2026): A mom searches for her son's plush toy during a wildfire. Dad Eric Balfour played a gay guy on Hacks.
Coming up: Focker-in-Law. Henry Focker (Skyler Gisondo) gets engaged to a girl (bisexual singer Ariana Grande) who turns out to be capable of taking on his crime-lord family. Queer actress Beanie Feldstein plays Henry's sister.
Ben plays Jackson, maybe a neighbor.
A lot of gay and gay-adjacent work for a kid who just turned 11.
Next question: is Ben gay in real life?
It's hard to tell with the younger kids. He's got some buddies and such, and poses with a gay bear artist (doubtless his parents' friend), but no Pride events, rainbow flags, or drag.
Although the sunglasses that Ben and his brother are wearing seem a bit fey.
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