Hollywood has found a new gay bestie in Brandon Scott Jones.

Isn’t It Romantic stars Pitch Perfect’s Rebel Wilson as Natalie, a New York City architect who inexplicably finds herself the leading lady in a romantic comedy. Navigating ridiculously unrealistic rom-com tropes in this alternate PG-13 universe, Natalie gets a flamboyant confidant played by Jones, an Upright Citizens Brigade comedian who’s no stranger to gay jokes.

After stealing scenes in TV comedies The Other Two and The Good Place, Jones explains why he’s never afraid to queen out for a laugh.

I’ve been seeing a lot of you lately. I feel like you’re having a moment.

It might be a moment. Maybe it’s more like a second that’s leading to a moment? It does seem like all these things are happening at once.

Now all you have to worry about is overexposure.

Well, my goal is actually to have the shortest career possible, where all my projects come out at the same time and everyone’s immediately sick of me.

You have a small but pivotal role as a used book buyer in Can You Ever Forgive Me? Are you taking credit for the film’s success?

Full credit, absolutely. Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant actually texted to thank me after receiving their Oscar nominations. [Laughs] The movie’s so great, and I feel lucky to be a part of it.

What was it like to shoot your confrontational bookstore scene with Melissa?

She’s a comedic icon, so it was a thrill. I think that was actually the first day of shooting, and I was so excited. After my first take, the director, Marielle Heller, said, “Brandon, that was really great, but this isn’t a broad comedy.” I was like, “Oh!”

Tell me about Donny, your character in Isn’t it Romantic.

Rebel’s character, Natalie, talks about how everyone in rom-coms is a terrible stereotype, and Donny fills the stereotype of the gay best friend. It draws on how two-dimensional those characters were for a long time. But Donny is also a fun, loving guy who’s already been through the journey Natalie’s on, learning to love herself, so he knows what the other side of that rainbow looks like.

Even though he’s supposed to be a caricature of a gay man, “setting gay rights back, like, 100 years,” Donny could’ve been much more offensive. Was that a difficult balance to strike?

That was definitely on our minds. You always want to punch up when you’re doing comedy, and you never want to make fun of marginalized communities. It was a conversation I had with our director, Todd Strauss-Schulson, that started before I had the part. In my last audition we talked about how we didn’t want Donny to be offensive. What we found that focused the performance is the idea that he’s figured out how to love himself, which has freed him up to love the people around him. I always tried to play that he loves Natalie and doesn’t care what other people think. But he’s also representing this rom-com world, so the comedian side of me wanted to heighten that.

Without giving too much away, we discover there’s more to Donny than meets the eye. Did that redemption give you the freedom to go bigger?

Yeah, once you see his monologue at the end, celebrating the love he has for himself and others, you realize that he isn’t just a stereotype. That did allow me to go over the top, play around, and be really physical.

Have you seen anyone on social media missing the joke or judging your character based solely on the trailer?

I haven’t read too much, but that’s crossed my computer screen a couple times. It’s always on the back of my brain. But the movie is about this rom-com world and those tropes that existed for so long. I hope people know that when we say Donny’s setting gay rights back, it’s because Natalie is more aware, more socially conscious, and hopefully the voice of our modern audience.

Did you base Donny on any specific fictional gay best friends?

Not so much gay best friends, but I was inspired by Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion. The ’90s were such a peak era for rom-coms, and I love how much Michele, Lisa Kudrow’s character, loves her best friend, so I wanted to play with that kind of love and excitement. Going way back, another inspiration was Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame. [Laughs] Not that what I’m doing is anywhere near those two iconic performances, but that lust for life and love for others really drove it home for me.

Do you have a Natalie in your life?

My best friends are both straight women, and I’m very invested in their lives, so I also drew a lot of inspiration from those relationships. I currently live with one of them, and I’ll just burst into her room whether she asks me to or not.

Donny has some great one-liners and catchphrases. Any favorites?

Donny says “booch” a lot, and I’ve been saying that a lot in real life since playing him. Like, “What’s up, booch?” When Rebel and I text or hang out, that’s still how we refer to each other. I love it.

Oh, when you and Rebel hang? No big deal.

[Laughs] Who, me and Rebs? What? We’re BFFs!

Donny also gives a lot of look—bold patterns, plaids, and florals. How does his style compare to yours?

Donny has the style I wish I had. I wish I could visualize and pull off an outfit the way he does. I’m a jeans and T-shirt kind of guy, but one of my favorite parts of playing Donny was all the costume fittings, where we tried on tons of Dolce & Gabbana. There were so many moments I’d be wearing a headwrap, all these scarves, and we’d be like, “Is this too much or not enough?”

At one point he wears a purple bandana. Did you refer to the gay hanky code on that?

I didn’t. What does it mean?

Piercings, has or into.

Oh, right! I actually like to check in on that chart every now and then. I’m sure Donny is very into piercings. He probably went through a phase where he was going to give it go himself but it hurt too much.

You also rock a snazzy leather jacket while riding a motorcycle.

You know what’s crazy? I got that leather jacket as a gift at the end of shooting. I loved wearing it so much, I was just prancing around the set in it, so six weeks later they came into my trailer and gave it to me. I was so moved. It’s hanging in my bedroom right now.

For the movie’s big finale, you got to dance to Madonna’s “Express Yourself” alongside Rebel, Priyanka Chopra, Adam DeVine, Betty Gilpin, and Liam Hemsworth. Could you appreciate the surreality of that moment, or were you too focused on the moves?

[Laughs] I was nervous about hitting the choreography! You should’ve seen me in rehearsal—I think people thought I was hopeless—but Betty Gilpin was a real rock and helped me through it. I’m a huge fan of musicals, so to be a part of this big movie musical moment, dancing in front of Grand Central... I actually took it all in on my car ride home, like, What the fuck did I just do?!

We briefly meet Donny’s boyfriend, played by comedian and SNL writer Bowen Yang. That must’ve been a fun day on set.

He and I were just reminiscing about it the other day. We share an on-screen kiss, which is pretty cool because the number of hetero kisses you see in mainstream movies still dwarfs same-sex kisses. I’ve known Bowen for such a long time, so we kept looking at each other on set, like, Oh, my god, I can’t believe this is happening.

Speaking of gay friendships, you play waiter Curtis, a buddy of Drew Tarver’s protagonist, on Comedy Central’s The Other Two.

Yeah, I was actually very excited by the idea of playing whatever the modern version is of two platonic gay friends. My platonic gay friendships have been so rewarding, so exploring that part of the character has been really fantastic. I love the show’s creators, Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, and Drew is a friend of mine, so it was another amazing experience where I got to work with people I already respected and admired.

You also popped up last month as afterlife newcomer John Wheaton, a former gossip blogger, on the third season finale of The Good Place.

That was really special because D’Arcy Carden, who plays Janet, is one of my best friends. She and I have been doing comedy together at Upright Citizens Brigade for about 11 years, so being together on her hit NBC show was another moment I couldn’t believe was actually happening.

It wasn’t made explicit, but is it safe to assume John is gay?

It’s funny because that was never brought up to me either, but that was sort of the choice I was making, so yes, I would venture to guess he’s probably gay.

Hopefully you’ll get to explore that next season.

Wouldn’t that be fun?

As you mentioned, you’re a UCB veteran. Was there a time early in your comedy career that you downplayed your sexuality?

Definitely, yeah, but I was inspired by seeing other comedians being a lot braver than I was. I saw the success and personal rewards they got just from being themselves, doing their most honest material, and it made me feel like I could also start exploring that and expressing myself.

I enjoy seeing you in comedy shows with all-gay line-ups like Live on Broadgay, We Will Turn You Gay, and Gay Pride Improv Spectacular.

We’re being completely ourselves when we do those shows, so we’re all having the time of our lives. At the end of the day, if I just do me, it takes away the bullshit and lets me have as much fun as possible. If people don’t want to watch me because I’m too gay or not gay enough, that’s on them.

Isn’t It Romantic is now in theaters.