Billy Eichner And Luke Macfarlane Talk “Bros” With DNA
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INTERVIEW: Billy Eichner | Instagram | Luke McFarlane | Instagram
DNA: Watching Bros, it’s almost like we gay guys have nothing to apologise for. It’s like we’re normal!
Billy Eichner: [both laugh] Let’s not go that far!
Traditionally, gay themes are treated tentatively on screen – let’s not offend the straights. You threw out that rule! Bros never pulls its punches. Was there a line you wouldn’t cross?
Billy: No. We never censored ourselves. I mean, it’s not porn, so you know where to draw the line! But our goal was always to be as funny and as honest as possible. We just let that be our guide. If it felt funny, grounded and honest we did it.
Luke: Actually, one thing I was nervous about… My character uses steroids, which is rather behind-the-curtain for lots of gays. It made me nervous and I had misgivings. Then you realise lots of gay guys are doing it.
There’s a mixed message in that scene – it’s tacitly frowned on, yet there’s no retribution.
Luke: We cut away to my character Aaron sitting on the bed and he does feel bad. He feels like he’s not being his authentic self. And that was my experience filming it. Like I got busted for not being myself.
Billy: Aaron represents a physical ideal in the gay community and that was our way of saying it’s part of his armour. Yes, some of it’s fake. There’s lots of hyper-masculine imagery on social media, in pop culture. Big muscular bodies are on a pedestal, but people are doing things to their bodies that aren’t natural, and it’s never acknowledged,
Luke: And sometimes it’s just a filter on the camera!
Billy: We’re trying to get at that hypocrisy in us all. We’re speaking to that.
Luke: And there’s not always retribution. Sometimes there isn’t.
Billy: It’s not the worst thing in the world. He’s doing testosterone to get muscular, it’s not a crime. But it’s interesting to say it’s what he feels he must to do.
You guys used a gay intimacy coordinator. That must be a dream job for anyone in Hollywood. Tell me about the logistics and, dare I say it, the ins and outs of that?
Luke: Dare you say it, you said it! Basically, our intimacy coordinator said if you guys don’t feel comfortable, just say no. We had ideas about what we wanted to do, but it wasn’t beat-by-beat storyboarded. Billy had stuff we definitely wanted to do, and we found stuff on the day. The coordinator ensured we were comfortable with everything.
With Bros, you guys have made a landmark movie for Hollywood. Nearly 20 years ago, we had a landmark TV series in which, for the first time, we had major characters who were gay without explanation or apology. Not only that, but Scotty and Kevin actually got married. [Brothers And Sisters, in which Luke played a gay character.]
Luke: Oh, yes! So nice of you to mention that.
DNA: For gays to see ourselves on screen is a huge validation, whether it’s Bros or Brothers And Sisters. Twenty years later, times have changed. But we still need movies like Bros.
Was there resistance to getting it made?
Billy: By the time we brought it to Universal, they were actually looking to make a movie like this. But it took a very long time for any studio to get to this point. It’s the century-plus leading up to this where you find endless resistance.
How did you get Debra Messing? Did she have any stipulations?
Billy: She’d been a guest on my show Billy On The Street. We always had a blast. Then Nick Stoller [Bros director] and I came up with the idea that the LGBTQ museum, where my character works, needs a celebrity donor; it’d be funny if they were a famous straight ally. Immediately, we thought of Debra and came up with ways to turn her image as every gay man’s bestie on its head. We pitched it to her, she loved it. She said it was the only time she’s been able to curse on screen.
Getting an original queer groundbreaker like Harvey Fierstein was also huge. Did he have any requests?
Billy: Yes! He wanted us to be able to shoot all his stuff in half a day. But it’s only one or two scenes so we didn’t need him for long. I do remember he was annoyed we woke him up at 5am.
Is there still more ground to break?
Billy: Sure! I hope others in the LGBTQ community get to be at the centre of the story as it develops. There are so many queer stories to tell. We all have completely different life experiences. I’ve told my story and I hope more of us keep getting to tell our different versions of a love story.
Bros is now screening in cinemas.
