It just wouldn't be Watchmen without getting a good look at Doctor Manhattan's naughty bits, and viewers got to see them for the first time on HBO's Watchmen in the series' second episode. However, the actor who presumably bared all wants those viewers to know something: they're not his.
"That is not my penis," actor Tom Mison insisted in an interview with TVLine. Mison doesn't play Manhattan on the series, as the character has yet to make a full appearance. Mison instead plays a Manhattan stand-in on the latest episode.
"I had to tell all of my neighbors," Mison jokingly continued. "I live near old people, and just in case they happen to watch, I just had to let everyone know that they can look me in the eye."
Mison actually appears as a character referred to as Mr. Phillips by Jeremy Irons' Adrian Veidt. Phillips was first seen in the pilot episode as one of two apparent but odd-acting house servants to Veidt. In the second episode, Phillips plays the role of a pre-Doctor Manhattan Jon Osterman in a crude, and deadly, play of Veidt's own creation retelling Manhattan's origin.
Phillips is deliberately burned alive as part of the reenactment, as another individual is lowered from above the stage, fully decked out in blue body paint -- and nothing else, save a mask -- clearly intended to represent Manhattan. When the mask is removed, another person bearing Phillips' likeness is revealed, in turn revealing that Phillips is -- or was -- one of many clones serving Veidt, presumably created by Veidt himself.
The mask, and some editing in production, allows for a body double to be seen in all his glory, rather than Mison. Of course, that means Doctor Manhattan's tallywacker hasn't been seen yet, either. So viewers anticipating the real thing will have to wait.
Developed by Damon Lindelof, HBO's Watchmen stars Jeremy Irons, Regina King, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr., Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Tom Mison, James Wolk, Adelaide Clemens, Andrew Howard, Frances Fisher, Jacob Ming-Trent, Sara Vickers, Dylan Schombing, Lily Rose Smith and Adelynn Spoon. The series airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.