History Main / ClosetGeek

* Camila Noceda in ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' is revealed to have secretly been an InUniverse equivalent of a {{Trekkie}}, with her as well as her late husband Manny being fans of a sci-fi series called [[WhereNoParodyHasGoneBefore Cosmic Frontier]] and have an entire closet full of Cosmic Frontier memorabilia in the basement of the Noceda household. When the Hexsquad manages to find her memorabilia in "Thanks to Them", she [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial quickly goes into denial about them.]] The same episode also reveals that her passion for the show caused her to be relentlessly bullied by her schoolmates in her early years, [[FreudianExcuse which may explain her hiding her geekiness as well as her attitude towards Luz at the beginning of the series.]] Though by the time of "For the Future", she ends up confessing to being a closet geek to her daughter with the intent of [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre lifting up her spirits by proving that she truly loves her for who she is.]]

* Camila Noceda in ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' is revealed to have secretly been an InUniverse equivalent of a Main/Trekkie, with her as well as her late husband Manny being fans of a sci-fi series called [[WhereNoParodyHasGoneBefore Cosmic Frontier]] and have an entire closet full of memorabilia in the basement of the Noceda household. When the Hexsquad manages to find her memorabilia in "Thanks to Them", she initially goes into denial about them. By the time of "For the Future", she ends up confessing to being a closet nerd to her daughter Luz with the intent of [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre lifting her spirits up by proving that she too loves her for who she is.]]

** [[ActionGirl Faith Lehane.]] She reads comic books, [[WaxingLyrical references songs]], discusses Creator/DrSeuss, suggests Angel claim someone was cosplaying as him, wore a Franchise/{{Batman}} t-shirt when working with Giles, references ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' and especially Franchise/StarWars, compares herself to Yoda, likes Franchise/{{Transformers}} and Mayor Wilkens buys her off with a UsefulNotes/PlayStation.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'', while our Lower Deckers are known for their knowledge of a lot of ''Trek'' incidents, Beckett Mariner absolutely loves old starships, but she would deny it with a passion if she said it out loud. In the crossover with ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds'', Boimler teases her a bit over her geeking out at being in the Starfleet Museum and in the season 4 premiere, she's ecstatic to be going on board the USS ''Voyager'' before quickly brushing it off and claiming it's Boimler who would be.

See also PublicHaterPrivateFan which can overlap with this.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode, "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E16ReadItAndWeep Read It and Weep]]", the ever-athletic Rainbow Dash discovers she enjoys reading and is both ashamed to admit it and ridiculously determined to secretly finish her first book by any means necessary - including breaking into a hospital to retrieve said book after it's accidentally left there. She grows out of it, later being shown going into long-winded discussions with Twilight in front of everyone else with no shame whatsoever.

** Zack Johnson, Penny's muscular but not-too-bright ex-boyfriend, likes comic books, particularly ''Franchise/ArchieComics''. Sheldon claims that those belong "in the bedrooms of ten-year-old girls", but Zack's enough of a fanboy to know that there's way more to ''Archie'' than that.

* In ''The Avenging ComicBook/SpiderMan'', ProudToBeAGeek Peter Parker is ecstatic to discover that Steve Rogers used to draw comic books, and Steve is less than happy to talk about it because he doesn't think it's very ComicBook/CaptainAmerica. He relents at the end, though, when he realizes this attitude has somewhat dented Spidey's view of him, and the story ends with him showing Peter some new comics he's drawn and asking what he thinks.
* In ''Avengers and the Infinity Gauntlet'', Spider-Man attempts to make a Star Trek reference by declaring "Warp Factor 9, Mr. Spock!" only for Doctor Doom to correct him by stating that it's Sulu who sets the speed. Spidey then proceeds to mock Doom for outing himself as a Trekkie.

This trope defines a character who is interested in fantasy, sci-fi, computer stuff, or other manner of [[{{Geek}} geeky]] pastimes. The difference between this character and a [[ProudToBeAGeek proud geek]] is their total lack of embracing their geeky nature. To a vast majority of the population, they would never guess their geeky nature.

Contrast ExtravertedNerd who is loud about their nerdy interests and may lack the self-awareness of their behavior to even consider being ashamed of it. See also PublicHaterPrivateFan which can overlap with this.

->''What Montgomery said next was unimportant. She could have called him a '' "[[Franchise/StarTrek tin-plated dictator with delusions of godhood!]]" '' She could have gone with the classic '' "[[Franchise/StarWars scruffy-looking nerf-herder!]]" '' She might have chosen, appropriate to the situation, ''[[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 "gods-cursed TOASTER frakker!"]] ''\\

Because the entire population of Springfield High heard Montgomery use an insult so geeky, so extreme, that there was no doubt in any other stealth geek's mind what she was.\\
''One of them''.''

* In ''VideoGame/MaxPayne2'', it's revealed crime boss Vinnie Gognitti is a huge [[ShowWithinAShow Baseball Bat Boy]] fan and collects every piece of merchandise available. Vinnie tries defending his geek hobby to Payne by saying he's only collecting them for the money they might be worth in the future. Too bad this [[DeathByIrony came back to haunt him]].

* Eriri from ''LightNovel/HowToRaiseABoringGirlfriend'' is a massive otaku and doujinshi artist, but due to past events hides it from the general public.

* Kirsty from the [[Literature/JohnnyMaxwellTrilogy Johnny Maxwell]] series. In ''Only You Can Save Mankind'', she's very cautious about admitting that, in the game, she calls herself [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Sigourney]]. And in ''Johnny and the Bomb'' she accidentally admits to having a shelf full of ''Franchise/StarTrek'' videos, and immediately claims that "the programme happens to be an accurate reflection of late 20th-century social concerns, ''actually''." When non-closeted geek Yo-less asks if she has a Starfleet uniform, she refuses to answer.

* Kirino Kosaka from ''LightNovel/{{Oreimo}}''. She's the person you would expect the least to have anime -- and much less, eroge.

''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'':

* ''LightNovel/HarukaNogizakasSecret'' has Haruka Nogizaka. It's her secret, [[JustifiedTrope and rightfully so]]. Society in general looks down on {{Otaku}} as [[DoubleStandard nothing more than disgusting and perverted freaks]]; and coming from a rich family, she has [[TheAce a certain image]] to maintain. She even got a HeroicBSOD back in elementary school over being discovered and ridiculed for being one of these. [[FromBadToWorse Worse]], her strict father doesn't approve of this hobby either.

* Mr. Verres from ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': If he's not into geeky things, he's at least extremely familiar with them in his role as the man behind covering up real-life SF & fantasy shenanigans. He's been stated to be familiar with the term "Delayed Blast Fireball". For example, when Grace wanted to wear some alien spandex for a workout.
-->'''Mr. Verres:''' Okay, ''fine''. But if anyone asks, you're {{cosplay}}ing as an [[OriginalCharacter OC]] from your Creator/{{DC|Comics}} superheroes [[FanFic FF]].\\

* John Stewart's ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' cartoon incarnation. As an adult, he's a no-nonsense former marine, but as a kid, he was an avid comic book reader. When a dimension-hop allows him to meet his childhood heroes, he admits to a bemused Flash that if he hadn't had those stories as a kid he might not have ended up wearing the GreenLanternRing. When he, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are changed into pre-teens, he uses the power ring to create giant mecha-armour for himself. He also used to wear glasses (making him look like [[Series/FamilyMatters Urkel]]), but change it into a stylish mask (resembling Kyle Rayner's in the comics).

This trope defines a character who is interested in fantasy, sci-fi, computer stuff or other manner of [[{{Geek}} geeky]] pastimes. The difference between this character and a [[ProudToBeAGeek proud geek]] is their total lack of embracing their geeky nature. To a vast majority of the population, they would never guess their geeky nature.

* Kaoruko of ''Manga/ComicGirls'' passes out at her first day at school because she wants to hide her overtly {{otaku}} hobbies, but can't come up with something "normal" enough to answer her classmates' questions.

** Ogiue takes this to rabid levels, telling everyone how she HATES otakus. Strangely enough, it's completely justfied, complete with probably the most disturbingly realistic FreudianExcuse ever seen in manga.

* In ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', Yu Ishigami is an otaku for anime, manga, and video games, but does his best to keep people from finding out since he's already unpopular among his classmates as-is. In one chapter he and Miyuki Shirogane discuss their favorite manga where the Student Council girls enter the room. Ishigami promptly throws his friend under the bus rather than admit to the hobby, which leads to Shirogane lecturing the rest of them about how there's no shame in being an otaku and gets them to admit that they like anime too.

* Jiro Kyoka from ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' compiles journals of notes like Midoriya does, only in regards to rock music rather than superheroes. She thinks it's unheroic and embarrassing, but her classmates are quick to encourage her when they decide to put on a rock concert for U.A.'s Culture Festival.

* Sana in ''Anime/MyselfYourself''. He has an entire box of full of anime stuff (including an ''VisualNovel/{{AIR}}'' artbook) which he hides from his friends. He also plays visual novels on his laptop in his spare time.

* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'' has Chloe Cerise shown as a quiet loner who keeps to herself in the Pokémon world. When on the Infinity Train, she expresses a love of the macabre, a penchant for writing horror stories and a fondness of [[WaxingLyrical reciting very dark and morbid lyrics]] into casual conversation. She has to hide that side to herself because of how everyone in her class mocks her for it and instead pressure her to follow her father's foosteps.

** Penny is ''not'' this... in the first season. But after spending time with the guys, she's slowly become one, able to recall ''Star Trek'' plots (and use them as metaphors), kick ass at video games, and quote ''Star Wars''. But, of course, she's not going to admit there's a difference between ''Star Wars'' and ''Star Trek'' to her (very smart, but not into fandoms) friends Amy and Bernadette. Never mind that she saw the new ''Star Trek'' movie on her own and of her own accord before [[ProudToBeAGeek Sheldon]] did. She also admits having seen ''Series/GameOfThrones'' on her own because it had "dragons... [[SexSells and people doing it]]". Although, granted, there's still a lot of fandoms she really genuinely does not have much interest in, like anything to do with comic books. The 6th season, though, has Penny not only get into comics but drag Bernadette and Amy down with her in a battle over the exact mechanics of [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor's hammer]].

** Buffy herself shows signs of this, one specific example when the Scoobies make up a gym for her to train in she says they're like [[Franchise/JamesBond Q.]] Okay, fair analogy, one most fans would get. She then amends it by saying she didn't mean the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' character...wow, most fans would not have even made the obscure connection.

* ''Series/DowntonAbbey'': A fairly mild example, but it turns out that Dowager Countess Violet Crawley, of all people, has read and enjoyed a fair amount of contemporary science-fiction. Creator/HGWells and ''Literature/TheLostWorld1912'' get mentioned by name.

* In ''Series/LawAndOrderSVU'', its revealed that Finn is an avid gamer, much to the amusement of some of his fellow detectives. He explains that the hobby helps relieve stress. This is also TruthInTelevision. Rapper, Music/IceT who plays the character, is a proud gamer, especially when it comes to multiplayer shooters and even has his own ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' clan.
* Mitch in Series/ModernFamily is openly gay, but a closeted geek. An episode in later seasons had him going for the first time to a science fiction convention with ProudToBeAGeek Phil.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'''s Dean Winchester. He teases Sam for being a geek, but he drops references to ''Franchise/StarTrek'', ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', ''Series/TheXFiles'', amongst others. Especially apparent in LARP and the Real Girl, when Sam pulls up a video of the LARP group's activities, Dean comments it looks awesome, but turns stoic when Sam turns to look at him.

* WebVideo/AskThatGuyWithTheGlasses makes constant references to geeky stuff, has written fanfiction and prefers instead to mock the living hell out of nerds.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13704704/1/Total-Drama-Voyage Total Drama Voyage]]'': Duncan's revealed to be a secret fan of mystery stories, which according to Gwen, he's always done a bad job of hiding. His time in prison caused his secret love for the genre to grow even moreso as reading mystery books was some of the only things he could do during his free time.

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13704704/1/Total-Drama-Voyage Total Drama Voyage]]'', Duncan's revealed to be a secret fan of mystery stories, which according to Gwen, he's always done a bad job of hiding. His time in prison caused his secret love for the genre to grow even moreso as reading mystery books was some of the only things he could do during his free time.

* [[SergeantRock Ben Clouseau]] of ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' is a secret anime nerd, as we find out in the OVA. He tries to keep his DVD stash a secret, but [[TheGadfly Kurtz]] finds them and sows havoc (read: extensively taunting him then corrupting the videos).

* ''LightNovel/HarukaNogizakasSecret'' has Haruka Nogizaka. It's her secret, [[JustifiedTrope and rightfully so]]. Society in general looks down on {{Otaku}} as [[DoubleStandard nothing more than disgusting and perverted freaks]]; and coming from a rich family, she has [[TheAce a certain image]] to maintain. She even got a HeroicBSOD back in elementary school over being discovered and ridiculed for being one of these. [[FromBadToWorse Worse]], her strict OverprotectiveDad doesn't approve of this hobby either.

* Eriri from ''LightNovel/HowToRaiseABoringGirlfriend'' is a massive otaku and doujinshi artist, but due to past events hides it from the general public.

* Yayoi Kise from ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'' is an {{otaku}} who dreams of being a manga artist, but hides it for fear of being teased.

* One bit in John Leguizamo's short-lived sketch comedy ''House of Buggin'' was a trio of Latino gangbangers who did movie reviews. One of them was particularly large and thuggish...and almost assaulted one of the others for insulting Captain Kirk. It got worse later...the movie they were reviewing was [[KilledOffForReal Generations.]]