Billy Eichner reveals how he landed Debra Messing's Bros cameo: Her 'cursing is the funniest thing'

Joey Nolfi
·2 min read

She's style and she's grace, but Debra Messing is not that Grace at all times, and no one learned that better than the cast of Bros as the iconic sitcom star filmed her hilarious cameo for Billy Eichner's new gay rom-com.

Eichner exclusively tells EW that he devised Messing's supporting role — which has the Emmy-winning Will & Grace star playing a fictionalized version of herself, making a donation to the plot's LGBTQ History Museum — after working with her several times on his popular Billy on the Street comedy series.

"At one point we said, this museum would have a straight ally who's a celebrity who wants to donate," explains Eichner in our Around the Table conversation with the film's cast and crew. "I don't know when, but Debra Messing's name popped into our head. She seemed like the perfect person. She's been on Billy on the Street a couple times, she was always so game and so fun. She crushes it, the audience bursts out into applause at every screening I've been to."

Adds director Nicholas Stoller: "I don't know if this is true, but she told me this is the first time she's cursed on camera. Debra Messing cursing is the funniest thing ever."

Billy Eichner Video by EW; NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 20: Debra Messing attends Universal Pictures's "Bros" New York premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on September 20, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Mendez/WireImage)
Billy Eichner Video by EW; NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 20: Debra Messing attends Universal Pictures's "Bros" New York premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on September 20, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Mendez/WireImage)

EW; Jason Mendez/WireImage Billy Eichner reveals how he landed Debra Messing's 'Bros' cameo.

Universal made history with Friday's release of the long-gestating film, as it marked one of the first times a major studio rolled out a mainstream romantic comedy following the courtship of two men. Recent studio rom-coms following queer characters include Kristen Stewart's Happiest Season and Joel Kim Booster's Fire Island, though both films ultimately debuted on the streaming platform Hulu instead of going to theaters.

Bros — which also features an epic, groundbreaking sex scene between characters played by Eichner and Luke Macfarlane — is now playing in theaters nationwide. Watch the cast and crew discuss the film in EW's Around the Table discussion above.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Pension funds brace for £30bn hit from Gove leasehold reforms

    Pension funds are braced for a hit worth tens of billions of pounds as Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, tries to salvage his ambition of overhauling Britain’s centuries-old property leasehold system. Sky News has learnt that the insurance and pensions industries believe that Mr Gove's now-favoured option of imposing a £250 cap on ground rent and transitioning to 'peppercorn' levels over a 20-year period will cost in the region of £30bn. The figure is understood to mirror the Treasury's internal estimate of the cost to investors, according to insiders.

  • Trump trial updates: Jury selection finished, man sets himself on fire outside courthouse

    Five more alternate jurors were selected Friday following questioning from prosecution and defense lawyers, rounding out the 12 jurors and six alternates needed for the case against Trump to proceed.

  • I’m sober, he’s a drinker, and it’s damaging our relationship

    To Chris*, it’s a deserved bottle of beer after a long day at work – but when his wife, Leanne*, catches sight of it, her shoulders draw together in annoyance. She’s spent the past two hours helping their children with their homework and getting them through bath time; when Chris, picking up on her irritation, offers to pour her a glass of wine, she shakes her head and returns to reading their three-year-old a story.

  • Home Hardware is having a huge sale on garden & lawn essentials — save on lawn mowers, fertilizer and more

    Now through April 24, save on everything you need for spring gardening at Home Hardware.

  • Woodstock facing an ’emergency level situation’ with its water supply

    Almost a decade after identifying the need to secure a second well site to guard against a potential loss of water supply, Woodstock sits in a more precarious position than ever. During the long-awaited water update at the April 16 council session, Mayor Trina Jones delivered a stark analysis of the town’s water supply concerns. “It has been about a year since our council became aware of the issues with the new Grafton Wellhouse project and that it was deemed by Dillon Consulting to be usable on

  • Prison Architect 2 is denied release until September 3

    Double Eleven and publisher Paradox Interactive have delayed Prison Architect 2 by four moths to work on technical issues.

  • We found Taylor Swift's iconic red lipstick favorites from over the years

    The singer's signature bold picks have included Pat McGrath, CoverGirl and Chanel.

  • Mount Miguel High School student arrested on suspicion of sexual assault

    An 18-year-old Mount Miguel High School student turned himself in to authorities in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl on campus last week.

  • Watch: Police threaten to arrest ‘openly Jewish’ man for walking near pro-Palestine protest

    Metropolitan Police officers threatened to arrest an “openly Jewish” man for walking in central London during a pro-Palestine protest.

  • Amazon advertising chief steps aside for new role

    Amazon.com's advertising chief Colleen Aubrey, who has held that role for nearly three years, is moving to a new undisclosed position at the company. Spokeswoman Kristin Mariani said Aubrey's new position would be announced later. Aubrey is also a member of the elite "S-team," which advises CEO Andy Jassy and has worked in the advertising unit for over 11 years.

  • Strain on emergency services a concern with new evacuation model

    Area politicians are concerned about the potential strain evacuations could have on emergency services. Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board (CDSSAB) director of health Jean Carriere gave an update on First Nation evacuations at the April 18 meeting. Some CDSSAB members expressed concerns about hosting First Nations evacuees and the strain it can have on services that are already stretched thin due to flooding in some areas and the recent Empire Complex fire. While Carriere sai

  • Stock market today: Wall Street limps toward its longest weekly losing streak since September

    NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s latest losing week looks to be coming to a relatively quiet close on Friday. U.S. stocks are drifting in mixed trading after oil prices briefly surged overnight on worries about fighting in the Middle East. The S&P 500 was 0.5% lower in afternoon trading and on track for its third straight losing week. That would be its longest such streak since September, before it broke out into a record-setting romp. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 207 points, or 0.6%, as

  • Overnight visitors to the Kent coast could face tourist tax

    A Labour council in a holiday hotspot is considering imposing a tax on tourists who stay overnight.

  • Thousands of housing units, tramway in Montreal's new Hippodrome plan

    The City of Montreal is planning to build a carbon-neutral district of 20,000 housing units on the site of the former Montreal Hippodrome and land east of the Namur Metro station.Sandwiched between a railway yard, highway and industrial buildings in northwestern Montreal, the huge swath of land used to house the former Blue Bonnets track, where horses raced for over a century. In 2017, the city acquired the land from Quebec.Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante has called the plan Quebec's largest real

  • NDP hosting town hall in Wilmot Friday

    The Ontario New Democrats have scheduled a town hall meeting April 19 to further protest the attempted land acquisition by the Region of Waterloo. This time, NDP leader and leader of the provincial opposition Marit Stiles will be in attendance. A release from Stiles’ office said since last August, government officials have put into play the expropriation of 770 hectares of farmland for industrial development without public consultation. “To date, there are no clear answers on how rezoning will a

  • Train driver who upskirted female passenger avoids jail sentence

    Paolo Barone found guilty of voyeurism after taking photos of sleeping woman on train to St Albans in 2022

  • Women doing long jail sentences failed by ‘system designed for men’

    Exclusive: ‘In lots of women’s prisons, you will come off remand and be sentenced and be put on a wing among prisoners with sentences that vary from a month to longer,’ woman serving life sentence says

  • Man United overhaul under Ratcliffe extends to new technical director

    MANCHESTER, England (AP) — British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe continued his overhaul at Manchester United by appointing Jason Wilcox as technical director on Friday. Ratcliffe has assumed control of United's failing soccer operations since February when he secured a 25% stake in the storied club. A new CEO has been hired and a sporting director is also on his wanted list. Wilcox, who United said would start immediately, is seen as a key appointment ahead of Ratcliffe's first summer transfer windo

  • Caught between Israel and Iran, Jordan clings desperately to stability

    After Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel on April 13, Jordan finds itself caught between the two enemies. Friday morning's suspected Israeli strikes in central Iran have intensified fear that the country could be dragged into an escalation against its will. Having been historically neutral in the two countries’ decades-old struggle, the Hashemite kingdom is now seeing its delicate balancing act threatened. It’s a balancing act years in the making. Jordan, long obsessed with

  • Not as cloudy but still warm Friday

    Not as cloudy but still warm Friday