Billy Eichner’s got a date.
The actor’s upcoming romantic comedy “Bros” has cast its second male lead. “Brothers & Sisters” star Luke Macfarlane will play opposite Eichner in the first rom-com produced by a major Hollywood studio.
Earlier this year, Universal Pictures announced that the history-making movie, which will also be co-written and executive-produced by Eichner, is set to open in the summer of 2022.
“Apparently, I’m the first openly gay man to ever write and star in their own studio film,” the 42-year-old actor, comedian and Emmy-nominated host tweeted on March 5. “Only took 100 years! THANKS HOLLYWOOD!!!”
On Tuesday, Collider reported that Macfarlane, 41, had been tapped to co-star in the film — which will be co-written and directed by Nicholas Stoller (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) and produced by comedy powerhouse Judd Apatow.
Canadian-born Macfarlane, who came out as gay in 2008, has been the choice for the role for more than two years.
Speaking to Deadline in July 2020, Eichner was open about wanting to cast a gay actor for the role.
“I’m an EP on [the movie] and heavily involved in all ways. So, I was privy to casting discussions, and I would see when the casting lists were circulating, about which actors to call in for which role. There were so many straight actors on every list to play gay characters. And then, at the beginning, before I raised my voice, for the straight characters in the movie, there were never gay actors on the lists for those roles. I saw it with my own eyes. It’s not a two-way street. I’m trying to change that, and I also think it’s so important for us to be able to tell our own stories, because we have the lived-in experience, to bring the intellectual nuance of it to the screen,” he said.
“Bros,” which follows two men with commitment problems trying to start a relationship, is set to premiere on Aug. 22, 2022.
