Billy Eichner talks having ALL QUEER cast even for straight roles in his new gay rom com
dailymail.co.ukVariety's new cover star Billy Eichner has defended his decision to have an all-queer cast even for straight roles in his gay rom com Bros.The choice arose out of the 43-year-old's frustration with the amount of meaty film roles, including gay ones, that went to straight actors in the past.'It’s not about saying a straight actor should never play gay,' he told Variety. 'But we need a more equal playing field.
It’s about correcting a very extreme imbalance.' Variety's new cover star: Billy Eichner has defended his decision to have an all-queer cast even for straight roles in his gay rom com BrosBilly noted: 'I’m not arguing with the fact that Sean Penn was magnificent in Milk, or that Heath Ledger was heartbreaking in Brokeback Mountain.' Bros has been touted elsewhere as the first gay Hollywood romcom from a major studio - despite coming out more than a quarter-century after the 1996 classic The Birdcage starring Nathan Lane and Robin Williams.
Plugging his new movie in Variety, Billy declared: 'Hollywood took a century to make this film. That’s not my fault - that’s Hollywood’s fault for taking this f**ing long.'Bros is historic in the sense of making Billy the first openly gay man to both co-write and star in a major Hollywood picture.
Looking back: The choice arose out of the 43-year-old's frustration with the amount of meaty film roles, including gay ones, that went to straight actors in the past 'It's about correcting a very extreme imbalance': 'It’s not about saying a straight actor should never play gay,' he told Variety, adding: 'But we need a more equal playing field' The opposites-attract comedy stars Billy as a bookish workaholic who runs a museum and finds himself falling for a jock type played by Luke.
