In Minimum Wage Episode 1.2 (2026), thirty Drama Club teens descend upon the pizza place, making impossible demands and being outrageously entitled. Tyler (Tyler Alvarez), the most entitled of the lot, acts like a stereotypic gay drama club boy, hanging on his bestie, Teala (Teale Dunn). But he is actually straight; they are dating.
They are reprising their characters from the teen romcom Crush (2022): High schooler Paige pursues her crush, a female track star, but ends up with her sister. Amid all the lesbian representation, Paige's "gay" best friend (Tyler), is actually straight, with a girlfriend (Teala).
I wanted to know if the cute (and short) Tyler Alvarez has played any other gay-coded straight guys, or even gay-coded gay guys.
Question 1: Any actual gay characters?
Tyler was born in 1997 to a Dominican-American father and a Puerto Rican mother. He attended the LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, class of 2015.
Next, High School Lover (2017): A 17-year old girl falls for the older Francois Arnaud, and her dad is upset. Isn't it also a crime? Tyler plays Larry, her best friend and comic relief. I read a plot synopsis and an interview, but nobody mentions whether he is gay.
American Vandal (2017-18), surprisingly, is not about the motorcycle gang, it's about actual vandalism at a high school: phallic images painted on 27 teachers' cars. Tyler's Peter Maldonado and his friend Sam (Griffin Gluck) team up to find the culprit. They don't express any heterosexual interest, and are often interpreted as a gay-subtext couple.
He had a starring role in Blockbuster, which premiered on Netflix in November 2022 and was cancelled in December (but it's still there, in case you want to look it up). He plays Carlos, a "casually queer" video store employee who starts a "he's arrogant!" romance with Damon (Max Lloyd-Jones), culminating with a kiss.
Maybe a cock or two will push up the pageviews this time? This one definitely looks like Tyler.
In Pools (2025): Kennedy goes pool-hopping with her friends, including bookworm Blake (Tyler) and hunky Reed (Mason Gooding, left), with whom she hooks up. No plot synopsis, so I don't know if Tyler's character is gay or not.
While still in high school, he was cast as Diego in Every Witch Way (2014-15), featuring a girl at Hogwarts...um, I mean Iridium High...who discovers that she is the Chosen One. Tyler plays Diego, a Churi Kanay (who can control the elements). He's straight.
Next, High School Lover (2017): A 17-year old girl falls for the older Francois Arnaud, and her dad is upset. Isn't it also a crime? Tyler plays Larry, her best friend and comic relief. I read a plot synopsis and an interview, but nobody mentions whether he is gay.
And Declan on five episodes of The Fosters (2018), about a lesbian couple raising a crew of foster and adopted children. Declan is a streamer with an implied crush on Jude (Hayden Byerly), who famously came out while in middle school.
American Vandal (2017-18), surprisingly, is not about the motorcycle gang, it's about actual vandalism at a high school: phallic images painted on 27 teachers' cars. Tyler's Peter Maldonado and his friend Sam (Griffin Gluck) team up to find the culprit. They don't express any heterosexual interest, and are often interpreted as a gay-subtext couple.
Tyler also played the violent, homophobic Benito on six episodes of Orange is the New Black (2015-19) and Malcolm, a girl's toxic, manipulative boyfriend, on five episodes of Never Have I Ever (2021).
He had a starring role in Blockbuster, which premiered on Netflix in November 2022 and was cancelled in December (but it's still there, in case you want to look it up). He plays Carlos, a "casually queer" video store employee who starts a "he's arrogant!" romance with Damon (Max Lloyd-Jones), culminating with a kiss.
On Ghosts (2023), Tyler plays Ralph, a "basement ghost" cholera victim who dates Stephanie, a victim of a 1980s psych-slasher. After they hook up, he ascends to the afterlife.
Wait -- I thought this sounded familiar. Tyler Alvarez is a Short Guy, 5'6". I posted a profile after I saw him on Ghosts, but deleted it due to low pageviews.
Maybe a cock or two will push up the pageviews this time? This one definitely looks like Tyler.
In Pools (2025): Kennedy goes pool-hopping with her friends, including bookworm Blake (Tyler) and hunky Reed (Mason Gooding, left), with whom she hooks up. No plot synopsis, so I don't know if Tyler's character is gay or not.
More after the break, including a lot more cocks and Gavin Munn.