Overview
- Rannells confirmed in June 2026 on The Daily Beast’s “Obsessed” podcast that he had a very brief relationship with Anderson Cooper when he was about 25 and that he shared the story with Girls creators.
- He said the anecdote prompted writers to craft a storyline for his HBO character Elijah that included a romance with an older news anchor.
- Fans and critics first speculated in 2016 that the show’s older-anchor character Dill resembled Cooper, and Cooper told the New York Post at the time he would be flattered.
- Corey Stoll, who played Dill, previously said he did not base the role on any public figure and outlets that reported Rannells’s claim contacted Cooper for comment but had not received a response.
- Rannells later found a long-term partner in actor Tuc Watkins and the account highlights how writers sometimes draw directly on actors’ real-life experiences when shaping TV storylines.