Meet the dynamic duo behind the latest project from RuPaul’s Drag Race Winner, Bob the Drag Queen – Executive Producer who also cameos in Besties: The Webseries.  Best friends in real life (they even live together!), actors Samuel Erdahl and Braden Davis sat down with us to chat about the webseries, making it work in Hollywood and what it’s like to work with a drag idol.  Besties, very simply put, follows the life of two gay, best friends who tackle everything from struggling as an actor to dating and partying.   

You can binge watch the first season of Besties on YouTube and, if you’re a So Cal local, you can catch them hosting the Universal Studios Tram Tour.  Don’t let their outgoing personality and penchant for a cocktail fool you, these boys are “in it to win it” and are just as serious about the business side of the industry as they are about jazz hands, Liza, and dancing boys.   

How did you crazy kids meet?

Sam: We met while training to be tour guides at Universal Studios.

Braden:  – what the schmuck said. We had a three-week intensive audition process to become guides and were in the same, small group so it all began then.

What is your process when writing a show together?

Sam: We toss around ideas with one another, usually some crazy story that has happened to one of us, and then we think of ways to heighten the comedy and make it even sillier. We then create an outline together and one of us will write it, and once it’s complete we come back together to read it over and change/add lines as necessary until we’re both happy.

Braden: Yea, it’s an incredibly collaborative process that requires mutual respect, understanding and communication. Obviously when you’re just writing by yourself you don’t really have to rely on someone – but Sam and I are constant collaborators so we have to make sure we are always on the same page. If we have an issue with an episode or plot point, we address it instantly. We adapt around the other and I think that’s what makes for a very personal writing experience. We want to make sure both of our natural voices come through in the scripts, but we also want to make sure it enhances the overall episode or project we’re working on.

Do you guys ever fight?  If you do, what about?

Sam: Does a bear shit in the woods? Absolutely, we fight! And often. Normally it’s about something so minor and small that we eventually realize just how silly we’re being and we drop it. But there have been those occasions where we blow up at one another. I know I’m certainly guilty.

Braden: Here’s the thing…have you seen Will and Grace? We often refer to ourselves as Will and Grace because while we often have amazing, smile filled moments (like most best friends do), we also (like Will and Grace) have very serious fights. We cry. But, we also console each other because we’re so open with the other. Often the fights come from misunderstanding the other so, once we talk it through or cry it out, we realize that what we have is more important than any of the silly fighting.

How did you come about working with Bob the Drag Queen?

Sam: We met Bob while volunteering on the gay cruise ship charter RSVP Vacations. He was the headliner. We both said to each other that if we could just get one drink with him, our lives would be complete. We ended up hanging out with him every single day and tucking him into bed most nights. We exchanged numbers, not thinking he would ever hit us up, but he did every single time he came to LA.

Braden: Like Sam said, it happened organically. We are both super fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race (as is Bob), so we were just kind of geeking out for the first few moments but then Bob was just very real and has a no bullshit attitude we really took to. A friendship formed fast and, one time while Bob was visiting, he asked what we were up to and I showed him some of the preliminary Besties scripts and read them out loud. He loved them and later brought up possibly directing and executive producing the series. We were shook and so happy to choose Bob to work with.

What was your shooting schedule like?

Sam: We filmed for 9 total shooting days, with pretty much all of those days being 12-14 hours long.

Braden: Yea it was a very fast and furious (Universal pun) process but, honestly, it was kind of nice to streamline the filming. It kept us focused.

How did you finance this project?

Sam: We were incredibly lucky to have Bob come on as Executive Producer, he financed the vast majority of the project with the two of us covering the rest of the minor expenses.

Braden: Yea, Bob was our sugar daddy but we also spent a lot of our own money to make the project what we thought it could be. When we say we were producers we were PRODUCERS. We literally did everything from scheduling to casting to getting all of the props together and costumes. It really made us feel like it was our baby and gave us full control. Were we a lot more broke after it…absolutely. Worth it? Absolutely.

What are some of the biggest obstacles in filming a web series?

Sam: I’d say the biggest obstacle was overcoming the small budget that we had to work with. We had to get really creative toward the end and limit our shooting days so we didn’t push the budget too far.

Braden: Timing and money 1000%. We had to sacrifice some shots we wanted to get because we simply didn’t have enough time or money to shoot it. That meant adapting to what we COULD do.

Who are some of your biggest influences in the entertainment industry?

Sam: Meryl Streep, Meryl Streep, Meryl Streep. She’s perfect, she’s beautiful, she looks like Linda Evangalista. No, seriously, she is the reason that I became an actor. The amount of humanity she brings to every role is breathtaking.

Braden: Like Sam, Meryl is untouchable in my opinion. She is so specific and makes acting look effortless. To that list I’d add Cate Blanchette, Kate Winslet and Lucille Ball. I Loved Lucy was the first time I fell in love with comedy and realized you could make people laugh for a living. And she was just so damn good at it. She wasn’t afraid to be silly or ugly. Man, I love that woman.

What is one of your craziest experiences in working as a tour guide?

Sam: Oh lordy, where do I begin? The amount of people who jump off the tram to pee in the bushes is ridiculous.

Braden: My tram has been fully on fire and I’ve had guests vomiting more than I’d like to admit.

What’s next for the Besties team?

Sam: We’re working on season 2! Toward the end of the writing process right now.

Braden: Shopping it around, maybe some pitching and season 2 is happening as we speak. Punching up scripts and finalizing everything for production. We are very excited with where we want to take the show.

Have you ever fought over a boy?

Sam: Oh, yes. A couple of times. And looking back now, it all seems so stupid.

Braden: Literally what Sam said. We basically realized Grindr can be kind of the devil and no boy is worth fighting over. Bro’s before ho’s.

What must the LGBT community do most in today’s political and social climate?

Sam: We just simply need to be seen. We need exposure. We all have such amazing voices and we need to be heard.

Braden: What Sam said. We need to define ourselves as GAY men so that others see that we come in all different shapes and sizes. But, at the same time, we need to let others not define the LGBT community in this little box. We’re more than our jock strapped photos on Instagram or Tinder profile – we have souls, minds and we are here to change the world and make it better.

When are you casting a husky Latino in one of your projects?

Sam and Braden: Tomorrow!

Describe one of your worst auditions.

Sam: The audition that made me the most angry was a few years back. It was for a commercial and I had to drive all the way to Santa Monica from work in rush hour traffic. When I got there, they asked for my profiles, took a photo, and then asked me to jump. Just once. And that was it. And then I got to drive all the way back to work in rush hour traffic. So pointless. I didn’t book it.

Braden: It was for a web series that didn’t even pay that much, but I saw the audition as an opportunity. I waited close to two hours to be seen and when the director and casting director came out to say hello and prime us for the audition they just started yelling in this very bitchy tone. And when they asked what character I was there to read for they questioned me saying, “WHY HIM? ARE YOU SURE? YOU’RE NOT THE RIGHT TYPE!” This was in front of all the other auditioners, mind you, and I was so confused as THEY were the ones who called me in in the first place. That kind of disregard for actors really pisses me off.

Rapid Fire Questions:

Celebrity crush

Sam: Jake Gyllenhaal. He’s like a beautiful man-puppy.

Braden: Antoni from the Queer Eye reboot on Netflix. Honey…talk about puppy…boy has puppy eyes for days. He can make me quiche in bed ANY MORNING.

If you could go back and redo any TV show, which one would it be?

Sam: I would want to redo EVERY season of American Horror Story after the second one. Such great premises but terrible execution.

Braden: I thoroughly agree with Sam. Ryan Murphy has fantastic ideas at first but then they go BANANAS. But, also Riverdale. I love the show (and shirtless Archie) but the second season is so stupid. But can’t stop watching.

Most embarrassing show you have binged watched

Sam: I once binged an entire season of Big Brother. The one that had Frankie Grande in it. So so ashamed.

Braden: All of the Real Housewives franchises. Beverly Hills is a weak spot of mine. Erika Jayne is the sexiest and I often find myself listening to “Expensive” during my work outs.

Worst date?

Sam: Dinner at McDonalds followed by going to see Black Swan. Sooooo sexy.

Braden: I met this guy for drinks in Weho and he didn’t do his research and the place was closed so we went to Barneys Beanery and had absolutely nothing in common. He had this arrogant air to him and our server was so slow that I just wanted to expedite the whole evening.

Favorite cocktail

Sam: A simple jack’n’coke makes me happy.

Braden: Also a fan of jack’n’coke. And, no, I am not a copy-cat. People often make fun of us and call us pirates when we go out. Jokes on you guys! We ARE PIRATES