If you’ve ever watched How to Train Your Dragon and found yourself thinking, “Wait… Gobber might be gay, right?”—you’re not alone. For years, the franchise’s beloved blacksmith has quietly held space as a fan-favorite queer-coded character. He’s rugged. He’s emotionally available. He’s got that one-liner in How to Train Your Dragon 2 about why he’s never married. And let’s be honest: the man wears fur-lined armor like it’s couture.
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But until now, the question of Gobber’s sexuality has remained floating in fandom theory and rainbow-colored subtext. So, when CinemaBlend’s Jeff McCobb sat down with Nick Frost, the actor taking up Gobber’s hammer for the upcoming live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie, the question was finally asked head-on.
Frost, described aptly as “something of an unexpected gay icon a la Golden Girls or The Babadook,” didn’t flinch. He leaned in—literally and metaphorically—and said:
“I think it’s true. I don’t think it’s a theory, right? Has it been? I don’t think [Dean DeBlois] has confirmed, but, yeah, I think potentially Gobber is gay. Which is great, because I think he’d have a lovely gay dragon as well.”
Let’s just pause here and let that last sentence wash over you like a Viking sauna. A lovely gay dragon. Honestly, someone better start sketching that fan art immediately.
McCobb also referenced the now-infamous moment from the second film, when Gobber casually mentions “that’s why I never married”—a line that sparked enough online discourse to fuel Berk for decades. But this isn’t just queer fans reading too much into subtext. According to Frost, there’s hope that Gobber’s queerness might finally get some daylight in the live-action adaptation:
“But then, you know, we’ve been greenlit for two. So, again, this is an aspect to Gobber’s personality that we will start to see hopefully bloom.”
Bloom. It’s such a tender word for a man with a metal hand and an affinity for shouting at dragons. But it fits. If we’re finally going to see LGBTQ+ representation in this franchise, Gobber’s the right Viking to lead the charge. He’s already survived losing a limb, mentoring Hiccup, and arguing with sheep. Surviving the heterosexual monopoly on animation? Just another Tuesday.
Besides, Frost is no stranger to the bear love. When asked about his unexpected gay icon status, he smiled and said:
“I’ve enjoyed my gay iconage for a while now. And I was even offered the cover of [American Bear]…I was, yes, but I had to turn it down sadly. My outfit was going to be like a tiny, Navy thing or pearl-handled pistols and chaps.”
Oh, American Bear—that fever dream of a magazine celebrating big, bearded men. This isn’t even the first time Frost has brought it up. Back in 2013 on Conan, he gleefully shared his dream cover ensemble:
“White chaps, a kind of white cowboy vest and a tiny little cowboy hat” and “two little revolvers.”
Ten years later and he’s still rocking the same gay cowboy fantasy. Icon behavior.
With the live-action How to Train Your Dragon movies officially in the pipeline, there’s a genuine opportunity here. Gobber doesn’t need to wave a rainbow flag or drop a Pride-themed forge (though, imagine), but giving him a fleshed-out love story—gay dragon or otherwise—would be a big step for a franchise that’s always centered themes of difference, empathy, and chosen family.
We’re in an era where queerness in animation is slowly gaining ground, but there’s still a gap when it comes to characters who are older, gruff, and not cut from the sparkly teen drama cloth. Gobber could change that. And if Nick Frost gets his way, we may soon see a grizzled Viking queer elder with a heart of gold (and maybe a dragon who shoots glitter flames).
So here’s to Gobber. May he forge swords, raise eyebrows, and finally find the kind of love story that’s long overdue.
And if it ends with pearl-handled pistols and a tiny navy outfit? Even better.
Source: Cinemablend
These magazines call anyone a gay icon these days. Icons don’t work for Rowling.