The “Peloton Husband” Speaks!
Of all the people taking that Peloton ad too seriously, Sean Hunter, the guy who plays the husband for all of 5 seconds, is taking it the most seriously of all. According to The New York Post, Sean wrote a blog post for Psychology Today, and with absolutely no sense of irony or humor, complained that his burgeoning acting career has been tainted (yes, he actually used the word “taint” with a straight face) by the negative reaction the commercial has received. Sean lamented “my 5 seconds of air time created an array of malicious feedback that is all associated with my face.” Quick, close your eyes — what does Peloton Husband look like? a.) A generic looking white dude, b.) Was the husband actually in the commercial?, or c.) Sean Hunter from Vancouver, the literal embodiment of the patriarchy, who will never work again, not after what he pretended to do to that poor woman with the knitted brow. Answer key after the jump!
Obviously the only two correct answers were A and B, but you’re going to have a hard time convincing Sean of that. Sean’s worried, among other things, that he won’t know if he was any good in the ad, because people are making fun of it:
My acting coach messaged me after seeing the video and said that I looked great! We shared a positive discussion about my part in the commercial and her advice helped in my endeavour of becoming a better actor, as I hold her opinion highly. A few comments from my friends came in and the overall consensus was that it was awesome, one even mentioning, “I always knew you would make the big time.” I appreciated the compliments, but in my eyes it was just a small role. I was simply grateful for the experience.
Hold on, here comes the but… (or, the taint, as it were)
But a few days ago, that all changed. Reviews from my friends stopped as the video went viral. I soon noticed that the commercial had several thousand down votes as the tweets came out and talk shows weighed in.
As my face continues to be screen shot online, I wonder what repercussions will come back to me. I pride myself on being a great teacher and developing actor, and I can only hope that this affects neither. I’m grappling with the negative opinions as none of them have been constructively helpful. “I think the acting was corny because it was overdramatic” (Jeannie Mai, The Real Daytime). It’s really hard to improve when all feedback goes against any type of growth. I currently sit here hoping that I’ll be able to continue auditioning for commercials without any taint, and that if my students happen to find the commercial and recognize me, they won’t think about me any different than they already know me.
Sean teaches elementary school when he’s not pretending to ruin women’s lives. I don’t know much about Canadian elementary school children, but I guess they are very into expensive exercise equipment, discussing the finer points of the patriarchy as it pertains to gender dynamics, and Pokémon.
The good news is, Sean’s not so worried about forever being associated with Peloton Husband because he started an Instagram called @Pelotonhusband which features all of his “choice a.)” head shots.
Now close your eyes again! Can you remember what Peloton Husband looks like now? Neither can I! Sean concluded by saying:
The aftermath of the commercial has left me with more questions than answers, and this is only half the story. I reflect on what my co-actor must be dealing with, as she’s the other 25 seconds of the story.
Sean, if you really want to know, just go down into the basement and ask her! NYP reports that nobody has been able to figure out who played Peloton Wife and she remains uncredited. For all we know, she’s still huffing and puffing away in some dank basement in Vancouver.
Pic: Peloton via Instagram