Damn, I’m dry. I know you too. That’s why in ELLE.com’s Traps of Desire series, we ask tough questions like “Why are you so gorgeous?” and “Is it like an oasis in the desert of life?” Drink up! Nothing.
Bowen Yang is preparing for a hot boy summer. He just finished a breakout season in SNL, and now title the exciting new movie fire island, a gay rom-com based on Jane Austen’s Proud and prejudice. Yang is also the new face of Absolut’s Out & Open The campaign focuses on independent gay and lesbian bars and helps fund the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) to ensure the social space for the gay community continues to grow.
Yang told ELLE.com: “The first time I walked past a gay bar, I knew something special was going on there, before I could even walk in. (He wrote a love letter to that bar, a popular dive site in downtown New York called the East Block, as part of his campaign mission.) “I even do. I don’t even know how to order a drink,” he laughs. “But I know that place has my back. We have to make sure we keep them open so that the next generation can also be awkward and surprised and supported. “
This is The 31-year-old bartender’s tips for getting a bartender’s attention, keeping his head high in his day-to-day work, and how to get invited to a bartender SNL after the party.
Remember the first gay bar you went to?
Oh of course. I went to New York to go to NYU. I was living with my sister at the time, and I would pass by this bar called Block East in the East Village. It has an appealing brutalist aesthetic to it, and you know, even from afar, I can tell it’s a place where people can be themselves, whatever that means.
So you snuck in when you were 18…
Believe it or not, I actually did Not fake [ID] in New York? I feel like I deserve the city keys for it! But when I was 21 years old, I discovered allll bars… but the Eastern Bloc has never left my heart, you know? We’re really mourning the closure of these places now, so I think there’s something really special about what Absolut is doing. They’re doing these stories in an audience context, and the more people watching, the more we can help the community of LGBTQ+ bars and businesses survive into the future.
What was your first drink order?
Like whiskey and translucent navel? I know, like really, really amateur hour. But then once I like to feel a little fussy and cultured, I make a Vodka martini absolute with a little twist. It’s my upgrade drink.
What’s your best tip for getting a bartender’s attention, especially at a crowded Pride party?
I have no advice to offer, because, bartender? They still ignore me.
No! Surely now that you are famous, you are served first?
I do not know! I think this is the great thing about gay bars — there’s something about democratizing it. Unless you’re like… who am I going to say? Like, Matthew Bomer. Unless you’re him, or you look like you’ve been pulled out of a Calvin Klein commercial or something. Unless it’s like that, my advice is to just maintain eye contact, like really leaning over and like, using your cup to crush them. The other thing you can do is double elbow wings. Lean in with both elbows on the bar like you’re about to tell a campfire story. That’s how they know you’re ready.
Drinking before a comedy show, yes or no?
I have not recently. But sometimes, on Tuesday nights [during SNL rehearsals]sometimes you get taken to the host’s dinner, that’s when some members and Lorne [Michaels] and some producers eat with the host. And sometimes, if you’re an actor and you still have sketches in the mix, you’ll have to go back to work and write until witch hour. In that case, I’ll drink an espresso martini because I can get back to work! It’s a super functional cocktail.
Do you drink with Kim Kardashian when she hosts?
I did! I have a drink with Kim… Actually, when I order my drink [at the after-party], I was a bit confused because my sketch with her was cut. They put it on the internet the next day, and it has a life of its own, which I can appreciate. But at that point, I was a bit mopey. And so I ordered, like, a bourbon on ice. And then I heard a voice behind me: “What are you drinking? Drink champagne with me! ‘ And I came back from the bar, and it was Khloé Kardashian, saying, ‘How sad! Are you drinking bourbon on ice? Drink champagne! ‘ And I said, ‘Whatever you say, Khloé! I will do whatever you say”. So I was called to ask for my drink, which I loved. And then go on to drink some champagne.
True or false: You worked at One King’s Lane before landing SNL.
I did! I did for five years!
Do you have advice for people who are still doing a daily job? How do you make space for your creative pursuits when you’re also working to pay the bills?
I have advice, but nothing more than general, “KEEP IT DOING.” There’s really no secret but persistence. Go ahead and let go of the guilt you feel around you for not spending more time on your day’s work or not spending enough time on a passion project. Just try to remove guilt from both sides as much as possible. I mean, New York is generally “doing something to do something else.” That’s the whole problem. I remember watching Shonda Rhimes’ Dartmouth opening speech, and that’s the whole point of it. She was like, “Do something now so you can do something later.” No one wants to start like that, but that’s exactly how you get started!
Your Instagram account is @FayeDunaway. Did the real Faye Dunaway say anything about it?
I have good authority that, yes, she contacted the people at SNL hope can confront me on the wave. That tells me she knows the handle, and who I am… And it’s all going to be fun, of course, but I mean, whatever the mental equivalent of an exercise in a Marvel movie is. , I need it. I had to fortify my mind for that encounter… I mean, sharing space with Faye Dunaway, mentally? She is amazing. She is an icon. So I really need to be prepared.
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