Billy Eichner Explains How His Career Has Led To 'Bros'

By Andrew Sanford | Film | September 28, 2022 |

By Andrew Sanford | Film | September 28, 2022 |

Billy Eichner went from yelling at people on the street to earning and creating lead roles in hilarious sitcoms and back to yelling at people on the street. You go with what you know! This led to the comedian’s upcoming starring role in a movie he co-wrote, Bros. The gay rom-com hits theaters this Friday, and Eichner stopped by Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend to explain how his career has led to this point and how much of a big deal that is!

Cultural progression has reached such a point that gay people can be more open about who they are. That said, there is much work to be done. Something that Eichner, unfortunately, points out frequently. He has to. As he says, his generation is between older folks, who had to and may still feel the need to hide who they are, and a younger generation that can have an entire Tik Tok channel(?) based on their sex life.

This societal shift helped make Eichner’s new movie, Bros, possible. Eichner put in the work. He has spent years becoming popular, not just among the LGBTQ+ community but people from all walks of life. That’s one of the reasons Billy felt his new movie should not force itself to be palatable to straight people. As he says, you can’t just remake When Harry Met Sally but with two men. Gay relationships are different. That should be celebrated and explored, not morphed into something they’re not.

Bros is a monumental achievement, and Eichner deserves a lot of credit. I’m excited to see it and hope it leads to even more authentic LGBTQ+ representation in such a mainstream way. Luckily, even if things get even better for Eichner, he likely won’t stop yelling at people on the street anytime soon.