Brian Gallivan has built a large Internet following with his series of videos as Sassy Gay Friend, dispensing advice to female characters from classic works of literature. In anticipation of his appearance tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Northwest Campus Auditorium, Gallivan talked with the Daily Bruin’s Marjorie Yan about his alter ego.
Daily Bruin: How did you get started as an actor?
Brian Gallivan: I started taking improv classes in Boston at a theater called Improv Asylum, and I just loved it. I was a middle school teacher at the time. I got involved in Second City, and I just got more and more into the improvisation and the acting world.
DB: How long have you been making the Sassy Gay Friend videos, and what inspired you to make them?
BG: I started making the videos with Second City a year ago, but it was originally a sketch I did at Second City in Chicago on stage. I just like doing stuff with literature and I liked Shakespeare, and I thought it would be fun if these ladies had that sassy gay friend who keeps appearing in movies and TV shows.
DB: Was Sassy Gay Friend inspired by anyone or anything in particular?
BG: No, I think it was just because I kept seeing that character in movies and TV shows, and I thought it would be funny to throw a sassy gay friend where we haven’t seen one ““ one who comes in and saves the day.
DB: Do you and your characters share any personality traits?
BG: I think the character was more of like an archetype that already existed. I’m a gay friend to any lady, but I could be much sassier.
DB: How did you come up with your trademark exclamations?
*BG: *”Stupid bitch:” I think that came just through improvising with one of the actresses I worked with when I did the performance live on stage. “What are you doing?” is just something a sassy gay friend would say. “Look at your life, look at your choices:” I just wrote that thinking, this is what a sassy gay friend would say.
DB: How did you react to when you realized that millions of people were watching your videos?
BG: I would’ve hoped some people would watch them, but I didn’t think that many would. I think I was surprised by how many young women responded to it. … On YouTube, our biggest audience was women 17-24 and I don’t know what I did. I was surprised that they would be our top demographic.
DB: Have you been noticed by viewers when you’re out and about? How do they react to you?
BG: For the last few months, I’ve been getting recognized more and more. I was in Boston, where I’m from, and I got on a plane Monday morning and the flight attendant said, “Hey, you’re a stupid bitch!” And I was like, “Hey, oh yes I am. Good morning.” It’s always fun. It’s the perfect amount of fame. It doesn’t happen very much, so I enjoy it.
DB: Your videos cater to a stereotype about homosexuals ““ what kind of reactions have you been getting about that?
BG: There’s a few people who say that I’m perpetuating a stereotype, and it’s harmful to the gay community. My response is that I actually know a lot of gay guys who are friends of mine who are just as sassy as Sassy Gay Friend in real life, and I don’t think that they are harmful to the gay community at all. I think Sassy Gay Friend’s fashion is harmful to the gay community because the shirt and scarf are pretty offensive, but other than that I think he’s a good role model.
DB: What can viewers expect from your appearance on Thursday here at UCLA?
BG: The show is about a third of Sassy Gay Friend, stuff that’s new or new versions of stuff you’ve seen. A third of it is audience interaction when Sassy Gay Friend interacts with different members of the audience. And the last part is me as myself, Brian Gallivan, talking about times and telling stories when I had been a stupid bitch in my life.
E-mail Yan at myan@media.ucla.edu.