Romantic comedies might feel like they’re a dime a dozen, but one thing we don’t get to see very often are rom-coms that focus on the LGBTQ+ experience. Billy on the Street star Billy Eichner made headlines when his new comedy, Bros, was announced, and it was revealed that the principal cast would be made up of all LGBTQ+ actors in every major role, even the ones that are written as straight characters.
While we know that many critics are loving the new rom-com that’s giving audiences a fresh perspective, once you’ve seen the movie, you might be wondering where, exactly, you’ve seen the members of this talented ensemble before. Here for you now is a rundown of where you might have seen the Bros cast prior to watching the love-focused film.
Billy Eichner
As mentioned above, many people first became aware of comic Eichner when his man-on-the-street style interviews for Funny or Die became popular. That led to a whole host of opportunities for the actor, who went on to portray the frequently yelling Craig Middlebrooks on Parks and Recreation from 2013 through 2015, star in the Hulu original, Difficult People, appear in Seasons 7 and 8 of Ryan Murphy’s hit series, American Horror Story, and Netflix’s Friends from College, all while voicing Mr. Ambrose for Bob’s Burgers.
In addition, Eichner has appeared in films like Sleeping with Other People, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, and voiced Timon in 2019’s remake of Disney’s animated classic, The Lion King (a part he’ll be reprising for the upcoming Mufasa: The Lion King).
Luke Macfarlane
Macfarlane is sure to be a familiar face to a number of rom-com fans already, as the actor has starred in a few Hallmark movies over the past several years, including Moriah’s Lighthouse, A Shoe Addict’s Christmas, and A Valentine’s Match. He also starred in Netflix’s 2021 LGBTQ+ Christmas rom-com, Single All the Way.
Away from lovey-dovey movies, the actor starred as D'avin Jaqobis in Syfy’s Killjoys, portrayed Scotty Wandell on the ABC hit Brothers & Sisters for all five seasons, as well as appearing in The Night Shift, Mercy Street, Satisfaction, Over There, Smash, and Supergirl.
TS Madison
While Madison doesn’t have a ton of acting credits to her name just yet, she’s recognizable to music fans as well as those who love reality TV. In 2021, she became the first Black trans woman to lead her own reality series with The TS Madison Experience on We TV, and has been a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race several times. Well before that, though, the talent released her debut album, The New Supreme, in 2016, going on to collaborate with RuPaul and Todrick Hall. She made her feature-length movie debut by playing Hollywood in the A24 film, Zola, and will be seen in the upcoming movie The Perfect Find and the TV series Hush.
Monica Raymund
This actor will be familiar to anyone who’s spent years watching the #OneChicago lineup on NBC, as Raymund starred as paramedic/firefighter Gabriela Dawson on Chicago Fire (and made regular appearances on sister shows, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med) from 2012 through 2019. Since then, the performer has led the Starz crime drama, Hightown, which was renewed for a third season earlier this year, and voiced Laura Romero in the dramatic podcast series, Dark Woods. She’ll also be recognizable for her earlier work in Lie to Me and The Good Wife.
Guillermo Díaz
If Díaz isn’t familiar to you, then you certainly never watched the massively popular ABC drama, Scandal, as he played the former black ops agent/assassin, Huck, for the duration of the show’s seven seasons. Recently, he was seen as Lieutenant William Brewster in the second season of Law & Order: Organized Crime, and previously played Guillermo on Weeds from 2007 through 2012. He’s also been seen in the beloved sketch comedy, Chappelle’s Show, and on series like United We Fall, Mercy, and Broad City, among many others.
Jim Rash
Rash has many claims to fame, including winning an Oscar in 2012 for co-writing the screenplay for The Descendants, but he may always be best known for playing Dean Pelton in the Community cast. Aside from his role there, he’s appeared in or voiced characters in nearly 130 movies and TV shows, including That ‘70s Show, Reno 911!, American Housewife, Impeachment: American Crime Story, CSI, Friends, Will & Grace, black-ish, Family Guy, voiced Flix on Star Wars Resistance, the Marquess of Queensberry on Mike Tyson Mysteries, and plays several characters on HBO Max’s Harley Quinn, including The Riddler.
Guy Branum
While Branum has worked as an actor in movies like No Strings Attached and on shows like The Mindy Project (where he also wrote) and Hacks, he’s better known for, well, just being himself. He likely first became recognizable to viewers during his 2008-2010 stint as one of the comedian panelists on Chelsea Lately, and went on to appear in a similar capacity on shows like Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, Lights Out with David Spade, and many others, he also hosted Talk Show the Game Show for two seasons, starting in 2017.
Amanda Bearse
If this name is already ringing bells for you, it’s because you remember Bearse either from her role as the sweet girlfriend of a teen obsessed with horror movies in the 1985 classic, Fright Night, or (and even more likely) from her 259 episodes playing the somewhat uptight Marcy Rhoades (later D’Arcy) on the hit Fox sitcom, Married with Children.
Harvey Fierstein
While a multi-Tony Award nominee and winner for Broadway plays like Torch Song Trilogy (he was also in the film adaptation), Hairspray, and many other shows, Fierstein is no stranger to the screen. He’s appeared in movies like Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, and Bullets Over Broadway, reprised his role as Edna Turnblad for NBC’s Hairspray Live! cast in 2016, has guest starred in a number of TV shows and lent his distinctive voice to characters in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Big Mouth, BoJack Horseman, and more.
Bowen Yang
Though he got his first screen credit way back in 2011, Yang really shot to stardom after becoming the first Chinese-American cast member on Saturday Night Live in 2019, where he performed as an iconic iceberg, among a number of hilarious sketches, and has played Edmund on Awkwafina is Nora from Queens for two seasons. He’s been in other series like Girls5Eva and The Other Two, appeared in the movies The Lost City and Isn’t It Romantic, and starred in another rom-com this year with Hulu’s Fire Island.
Symone
Many reality competition show fans will surely recognize Symone, as she won Season 13 of RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2021, returning this year as a special guest in the season finale. Since then, the drag queen has appeared on a number of talk shows, modeled in Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3 on Amazon Prime, and was seen in singer Kacey Musgraves’ Paramount+ special, Star-Crossed: The Film.
Bros is breaking new ground for romantic comedies, and we’re sure to see much more of the hilarious cast in the months and years to come!
