Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with The Real Bros of Simi Valley’s Christian A. Pierce

Christian A. Pierce is one of the creative masterminds behind the laugh-out-loud comedy The Real Bros of Simi Valley. Fueled by a love for entertaining and making others laugh, Christian’s dedication to his passion project has resulted in millions upon millions of views and found it a home on Facebook Watch. Pop Culturalist caught up with Christian to chat about the series and its third season.

Career

PC: You’re an actor, director, producer, and writer. How did you discover your passion for the arts? Is there one that you naturally gravitate towards?
Christian: I’ve always been in love with entertaining. I was always the class clown. I self-titled myself the class clown. I didn’t necessarily know that I wanted to do what I’m doing now. I knew I wanted to be creating and making people laugh.

I started making little homemade videos with the kids in my neighborhood. When I got to college, I met my now creative and business partner, Jimmy Tatro. We had the same desire to create and be in the industry, but we didn’t know how to get there. Through us trying to do sketch comedy on YouTube, I figured out that I loved every aspect of this. I loved acting, I loved writing, I was good at producing, and I loved directing.

The initial passion has always been there. Through trial and error, I got to chisel it down to what I’m good at.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Christian: Oh, wow. I haven’t been asked that in a long time. I could list a hundred films and TV shows. I was raised by the TV, so I was always watching TV and movies. Recently, since we’ve been together a lot in the past ten years, I would probably say my partner Jimmy. It’s a tie between Jimmy and my close circle of friends. Whenever I’m with them, I’m always laughing. I’m always getting inspiration on how to make other people laugh. They teach me how to tell stories that connect with people. They help me get a perspective on the world that I want to share with people.

PC: What’s one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you started your career?
Christian: If I could go back in time, I don’t think I would tell myself anything. That would make my past self angry, and he’d probably be like, “Wow. F*ck future me.” But all the failures and the Ls that I’ve taken have helped me learn.

The Real Bros of Simi Valley

PC: That’s a great answer. You’re one of the masterminds behind The Real Bros of Simi Valley, which is back for its third season. What can fans expect?
Christian: Everything is bigger and better. There are more laughs and bigger plot twists. This season the bros go international. It’s huge for them to leave Simi. That’s very fun. You can expect some heartbreak. On top of that, there is a pretty big twist that I don’t think anyone will see coming.

PC: Having done this series now for three seasons. Has anything surprised you?
Christian: Once we started to do the show with Facebook, I was surprised to see how similar it was to how we were producing YouTube sketches. Obviously, everything is bigger, faster, and there are more stakes involved, but the process of creating, producing, and finding the talent to make this vision come to life is very similar to the process that Jimmy and I had when we were producing our YouTube sketches. That definitely surprised me. I was like, “Wow. This is exactly what we were doing but elevated.” It’s really cool.

PC: What are some of the advantages of being backed by a platform like Facebook Watch?
Christian: It really allows us to let our imaginations run wild and know that we have the support of someone who can help bring it to life. That’s so cool. Jimmy and I have this book of sketch ideas. When we were producing YouTube sketches, we would go back to the book and look at which ideas we wanted to expand and which ideas we wanted to produce that week. There were times when we would have these hilarious sketches that we couldn’t do because we didn’t have the means. We didn’t have the resources. To know now that we don’t have to compromise our creativity has been so awesome. Facebook has been so great at supporting our creative vision.

PC: What’s been the key to success in the partnership between you and Jimmy?
Christian: There have been some bumps along the road, but it comes down to communication. Sometimes, we’ll pitch ideas to each other and the other one won’t understand the vision. I won’t see the funny in his pitch or he won’t see the funny in my pitch. I think putting the effort into communicating what you want from a story or joke and finding that shared vision has kept us pushing. I think a lot of partnerships fall out because of the lack of patience. It’s also about trust. There are times when we don’t see the joke that each other is pitching, but we have to trust the other person’s vision and that it will be funny.

PC: You’re also wearing a lot of different hats with this project. When did you know you wanted to do that? Is one more challenging than the other?
Christian: They’re all equally challenging. I can’t lie. I’m in love with them equally, which I know is a tough answer for people to hear. I couldn’t imagine not doing one or the other. I think a big part of that is when you have a creative vision or you have a story that you want to tell, you see it in your head in a specific way. The best way to get that done is to have your hands in every part of the process. That’s one of the things that we learned with YouTube. It was just us, so we had to write it, shoot it, edit it, and put it out. If we had to pass one of those jobs to someone else, a part of our vision would have been compromised. I love wearing all these hats. It’s very exhausting, but it has taught me the best way to get what I want.

PC: You’ve had tons of success in your career, especially with this series. Is there a particular moment that stands out?
Christian: For me, it’s when fans will approach me in real life and tell us that our work has a positive influence on their life. The idea that someone can laugh after a long day or escape from whatever they’re going through. Or maybe they’re having a great day, and it’ll make their day even better. I love putting a smile on people’s faces. When I get to interact with fans, that’s the best part for me.

PC: If you had to summarize Season 3 in one sentence, what would it be?
Christian: Whoa, that’s a great question. Expect the unexpected. This season will take you on some twists and turns.

To keep up with Christian, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Catch Season 3 of The Real Bros of Simi Valley on Facebook Watch.

Photo Credit: Paul Smith Photography