Luke: “There are three times in the movie where Bobby is specifically aware of his cis white male privilege. I remember thinking, maybe you don’t need to say this so many times, but Billy is very smart – he absolutely did need to say it that many times just so the audience knew he was aware he had privilege!” Luke: “The first version I read it wasn’t chocolates, it was flowers, which funny but not as weird.” Billy: “Yeah, it wasn’t as specific as chocolates. Aaron liked the way they were wrapped as a kid, and also the size of them compared to him was funny to me. He’s like this big dude who presents to the world as buff and ripped and strong, but secretly he like these little delicate things. It was also just funny to say!” Luke: “I think it’s also really important to clarify that these are not straight people. I think if you type into Google “Grindr”, the next thing that autofills in “for straight people”. It is very a different experience for us. I’m not personally on Grindr, but I have been in the past.” Billy: “When are you Googling Grindr though? He’s not on Grindr but likes to know about it, when was it founded, that sort of thing.” Also, the way Bobby processes Queer Eye at one point in the movie versus later on is indicative of the emotional journey he’s on. At the beginning, he’s really too cynical to give in to the feel-good nature of it, but when Aaron opens him up– (Cue a lot of laughter). I mean, figuratively speaking… His vulnerability comes to the surface more and his reaction to the show changes." Luke: “I can also relate to early Bobby’s reaction to the show, because it was a show that all my straight friends used to access gay culture. I was both appreciative of that, but also felt like, we do more than haircuts and clothes, y’know? Saying that, we all have to start somewhere and they were massively important!” Luke: “The four-way scene was actually shot near the end of filming and we were just exhausted by that point. I remember feeling sweaty and exhausted and it was honestly very tough!” Billy: “Yeah, we didn’t think that we’d gotten that one right. We almost cut it out of the movie, but then we showed it and people loved it. People loved Steve! I think so many of us have been that character at different times in our lives, and also Brock Ciarlelli is just hilarious. That scene was in there for comedy, but it speaks to a plot point in the movie too – whether Bobby is confident enough to be in a relationship with Aaron or not.” Billy: “We live in a very cynical world and those country ballads are very earnest. My character is super cynical too, so part of showing how he comes around to being more open with his feelings is for him to express them in a Garth Brooks style song.” Luke: “Yeah! I remember seeing him on set and asking him why he was there. He just said, “Billy wrote a song”. I was like, what?! Billy actually wrote the song during filming, which is amazing. I thought it was incredible, he had so much on his hands!” Luke: “Yeah, I think the New York part is super important to those movies.” Billy: “But I knew you couldn’t do You’ve Got Mail and swap the characters out for two men and have that feel authentic to the gay male experience. What we were trying to do was show the unique particulars of gay life, and being a single gay man in 2022, but also put it in this Nora Ephron style glow! We wanted to give it that comforting feeling because there’s no reason it shouldn’t have that.” Luke: “It’s meta for you too because people assume that Billy on the Street is who Billy is, but he’s not just that guy you see on that show. We all struggle with that, I guess.” Billy: “Yeah, anyone who’s fortunate enough to become known for one particular persona is always fighting to be seen as more, and then frustrated if they can’t be. Debra’s done a million things since Will & Grace, but we still associate her with that show. It was so fun to see her let go!” He kills in the movie, he’s so funny, and the audiences have been so happy to see him. He’s really emblematic of this new wave of openly LGBTQ comedians and comic actors who are getting all of these amazing opportunities, and it’s long overdue." Luke: “I could’ve watched him for ages! There’re a lots of takes of him dressing up his little dogs. That’s in the movie a bit, but there was another dog who didn’t make the cut. And that dog was so cute!” Luke: “We’d be very old!” Billy: “I know, Old Bros, that’s what we’ll call it. But which gay icons… Ian McKellen? Maybe we’re in a throuple with Sir Ian?” Luke: “Oh my God, that would be amazing.” Billy: “What’s better than that? I mean, there’s so many people we’d love to include.” Luke: “Elton John – he’d write the song this time.” Billy: “Yeah!” Luke: “Only Sirs, apparently.” Billy: “Yeah, you have to be knighted to be in Bros 2!”
