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Luke Macfarlane knows more than one way to fall in love with somebody.
Within five minutes of your character being introduced, we hear him referred to as boring.
Theres a part of Billys character thats saying that because hes intimidated by Aaron.
But also, boring people tend to not talk a lot.
There were definitely conversations where I said, I think I should say less.
I asked to have lines removed, which most actors do not do.
Thats very selfless of you.[Laughs.]
Hes boring in the sense that maybe he looks conventional.
When you look at him in the beginning of the movie, do you consider him boring?No.
I dont think he is boring.
I think he is probably very self-conscious that people think hes boring.
Do you think hes boring at the beginning of the movie?
Whats this thing you have on?
Thats not interesting.The beginning of the movie was like going back to being 19 years old for me.
Theres a lot of very interesting essays about what a gay voice is and what gay movements are.
I never really think about it that way.
I dont think we find Aaron like that.
Hes working to put up barriers and walls.
He wants to be seen as kind of tough and aloof.
I revealed to Billy that Id started listening toLas Culturistasa lot as prep.
I dont normally listen to it.
It is an incredibly intimate thing to have people in your ear.
He wanted Bobby, who he knows is really smart, to know that hes smart too.
I think hes one of the funniest guys out there.
Theres also a lot of talk aboutthe straight rom-comsBroslooked to for inspiration.
I grew up in the suburbs, where you could only see movies at the multiplex.
The fact that its in a multiplex with 3,000 seats is important.
This movie is also clever in the way rom-coms of another generation were.
Yes, it is broad.
Yes, it has physical comedy.
But its in that vein ofBroadcast NewsandWhen Harry Met Sally: movies for adults.
Its a smart romantic comedy.
It doesnt have to be a rom-com.
But the question of masculinity is not totally singular to the queer experience.
Hes all concerned about the way he looks and how he presents.
These ideas of masculinity are in all aspects of culture.
Youve played gay characters before, most notably onBrothers and Sisters.
Now Im like 40.
Its bizarre to now be in something that feels more of the time.
But you also have to appreciate what sort of sandbox youre playing in this is a Judd Apatow film.
Its going to be current.
It also has the specific comic voice of Billy Eichner, and Billys comic voice is around pop culture.
What hes brilliant at is making these observations about the larger culture.
I bet you get asked about that a lot.Its a part of my history.
I know my way around intimate conversation.
Ive learned how to fall in love with a lot of different types of people.
I dont know what that says about me, but you get good at listening to people.
WithBros, Billy is the star and writer.
I do not compete for the space that he does at all.
He respects me as an actor and wanted that different energy from me.
But its going into theaters, and there arent enough 18-year-old gay kids to fill all those seats.
She cried at the right places, and she laughed at things that were unexpected.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
