Rock Hudson was a legend of his time and one of cinema's most famous leading men in the 1950s and '60s, but as the world later found out, the Hollywood heartthrob was hiding a secret about his sexuality throughout much of his career. A new HBO documentary called Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed is set to detail the life and career of the movie and television star, including his life as a gay man, which was hidden from the public for many years.
A new trailer first shared by People gives insight into the upcoming doc, describing Hudson as "the biggest star in Hollywood" during his time.
"Not only did women say, 'That's the man I want to marry,' but men said, 'That's the man I'd like to be,'" says a narrator in the trailer.
The trailer reveals that the documentary will also cover the secrets hidden under the surface about Hudson's personal life. Interviewees describe Hudson as the last star whose life was "manufactured" to look a certain way to the public when it was certainly very different in real life. The trailer also teases a conversation with a love interest of Hudson's who recounts being ordered to never take a photo with the actor for fear of their relationship becoming public.
The documentary will also dive into Hudson's diagnosis with AIDS, his eventual death from the illness and the support that rose from the public after his battle.
"He pretty much did change the course of history around AIDS," says a person featured in the doc. "He didn't intentionally do it, but there was no other star that made that kind of impact before, and there hasn't been one since."
Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed is named after Hudson's 1955 movie, All That Heaven Allows. It was directed by Stephen Kijak, who is behind other projects such as Sid & Judy (2019) and the Lynyrd Skynyrd documentary, If I Leave Here Tomorrow (2018). The documentary will be available to stream on HBO and Max on June 28.
