Billy Eichner Wanted to Make Bros Sex Scenes Feel 'Human & Real'

Billy Eichner is opening up about making Bros as authentic as possible.

During a recent interview with Collider and CinemaCon last month, the co-writer and star of Universal's upcoming, gay romantic comedy (the first, theatrically-released rom-com from a major studio centering on a love story between two gay men) was asked about not shying away from queer sex in the film, and why it was important to him and the film's director Nicholas Stoller to include.

"It was important to me. It's a part of life, you know?" said Eichner, who leads a groundbreaking, ensemble cast of all-LGBTQ+ actors (yes, even the straight roles will be played by queer folks) that includes his romantic interest and Single All the Way alum Luke Macfarlane, theater legend Harvey Fierstein, Saturday Night Live's Bowen Yang, Zola star Ts Madison, Drag Race season 13 winner Symone, and so many more.

"It's a part of dating," he continued. "For straight people, for gay people, for bi people, for everyone. And we're making a romantic comedy. Sex is romantic and it's also really funny. We take sex very seriously. But sex can be really funny. And how can you do a story about two people falling for each other and not deal with sex? There's so much to mind from that. Also, I will say, gay people, gay men, we just haven't had many stories where sex was funny and romantic, without it being something dirty. It's like we've either had two-dimensional sitcom characters who talked about sex, but in a very cartoonish way that didn't feel real. Or we have porn, you know? There's nothing in between that feels human and real."

"So, it was important for us to include that," Eichner said about the importance of showcasing love scenes in Bros. "I think it's the authenticity of the movie that's making everyone, straight people, gay people really come alive when they see it and really be thrilled by it. And they think it's funny, too. There was one straight guy at a test screening who loved the movie. He was like, 'Yeah, the sex scenes were like Jackass. They made me a little uncomfortable, but it was so funny. I didn't care.' And I was like, great, I'll take it."

Bros first made headlines when it was announced last year that Eichner would be the first out gay man to write and star in what is being credited as the first major gay rom-com from a major studio. Since the film wrapped production last fall, we've been eagerly awaiting to finally see it on the big screen, and considering all of the hard work and passion Eichner and the rest of the crew have put into it, we're excited to see the results!

Bros premieres in theaters on September 30.

RELATED | Meet the All-LGBTQ+ Cast of Bros, Billy Eichner's New Gay Rom-Com