'Élite' Actor Omar Ayuso Turns Heads Posing in a Leather Jacket... And Little Else

On the hit Spanish Netflix series "Élite," Omar Ayuso gained stardom (and a huge social media fanbase) by playing Omar Shanaa, a closeted gay Muslim who has a relationship with Ander Muñoz (played by Arón Piper.) The pairing became such a sensation that it received its own moniker, "Omander," as well as speculation as to their off-screen relationship.

This week Ayuso got down and a little bit dirty (in the best possible way) with an Instagram that featured the 26-year old sitting on the edge of a bed wearing an open black leather jacket and a pair of white undies. Making it all the more seductive is the white rose he has clenched between his teeth, as well as his considerable endowment outlined in his briefs.

Since its debut in 2018, the series has pushed the envelope in terms of representation and subject matter on international television. In an interview with Ayuso in 2023, the Hollywood Reporter writes "'Élite' has been praised for its progressive representation of sexuality and identity over its past six seasons, with subplots exploring subjects such as rape, sexual health, sexual orientation and the criminal justice system amid the overarching theme of the haves and the have nots as scholarship students at the private school set in Madrid, Spain, struggle to fit in with their wealthy classmates. has been on for eight seasons."

"Élite" ended its eight season run this past summer.

Ayoso, though, took a leave of absence after the fourth season for reasons not fully revealed, but in a recent conversation with Vanity Fair he admitted he left the series in "a fight," and returning has helped him heal. "It's very cold outside and Élite is a place where you work very well, where they have always looked after me a lot and where they pay me very well, because I was coming from a period of being idle, of not working, of a depressive process and I needed a place where I could return little by little, where I felt safe and protected. It's a return home," he said. Adding, "It's very cold outside and Élite is a place where you work very well, where they have always looked after me a lot and where they pay me very well, because I was coming from a period of being idle, of not working, of a depressive process and I needed a place where I could return little by little, where I felt safe and protected. It's a return home."

One reason why Ayuso returned to the show is his role as an out Muslim. "You do feel a responsibility as an actor in building up the character and conveying certain things for a character with a certain reality. There's a moral responsibility. You have to be honest; you have to start from an honest point, especially if you're talking about a minority that has been marginalized over time. Everything you do has to help them eventually get to a better place. I would say in my day-to-day life, being a gay man in Spain, it's also a responsibility I feel in how I behave myself. There's great beauty in the feedback from the fans. I think one of the few things that you can say is great from social media is that you receive messages from faraway cultures that have nothing to do with you, from people you don't know and they convey the difficulties of trying to be who they feel they are and realizing that your job may mean so much in the life of other people is something that is really rewarding."

He continued: "When building your character, you are actually building an audiovisual role model in fiction on a national and international level. Being an openly gay actor that is free in real life and in fiction is something that we need so much while growing up and also in our lives as adults. It's role models that I didn't have as much when I grew up, that my mother didn't have at all. So being able to be that role model and to play that role model is something that is really special."

Check out these pics from Ayuso's IG: