About
Billy Porter
Overview
William Ellis Porter II (born September 21, 1969) is an American actor and singer. Porter gained notice performing on Broadway before starting a solo career as a singer and actor. For his role as Lola in Kinky Boots, Porter won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. He credits the part for "cracking open" his feminine side to confront toxic masculinity. Porter also won the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for the musical's accompanying album.
Porter starred in all three seasons of the television series Pose, for which he was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards and won the 2019 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the first gay black man to be nominated and win in any lead acting category at the Primetime Emmys. In 2020, he was included on Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2022, he won another Tony Award for Best Musical as a producer for the musical A Strange Loop.
He made his directorial debut in 2022 with the romantic comedy film Anything's Possible. Porter received the Isabelle Stevenson Award at the 77th Tony Awards for his humanitarian work with the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and Entertainment Community Fund.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Billy Porter, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for
Acting |
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| 2026 | The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping | Actor | Magno Stift | N/A N/A |
| 2025 | Christmas Karma | Actor | N/A N/A |
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| 2025 | I Was Born This Way | Actor | Self | N/A N/A |
| 2025 | My Happy Place | Actor | Self | N/A N/A |
| 2024 | Disco’s Revenge | Actor | 58 Average |
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| 2024 | Eric André Live Near Broadway | Actor | Self | 58 Average |
| 2023 | Queen of New York | Actor | N/A N/A |
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| 2023 | Our Son | Actor | Gabriel | 58 Average |
| 2023 | Truth Be Told | Actor | N/A N/A |
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| 2023 | Let the Canary Sing | Actor | Self | 58 Average |
| 2023 | Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love | Actor | Self - Guest | 59 Average |
| 2023 | Little Richard: I Am Everything | Actor | Self | 58 Average |
| 2023 | 80 for Brady | Actor | Gugu | 59 Average |
| 2022 | Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to All! | Actor | Self | 58 Average |
| 2022 | Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon | Actor | Self | N/A N/A |
| 2022 | PRIDE: To Be Seen - A Soul of a Nation Presentation | Actor | Pray Tell (archive footage) | 58 Average |
| 2021 | Cinderella | Actor | Fabulous Godmother | 61 Fair |
| 2021 | Smoke, Lilies and Jade | Actor | 58 Average |
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| 2021 | Where Love Lives: A Story of Dancefloor Culture & Expression | Actor | (Himself) | 58 Average |
| 2021 | 25 Years of Rent: Measured in Love | Actor | 58 Average |
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| 2020 | Equal | Actor | Narrator | 69 Fair |
| 2020 | Pose-a-Thon for Pride | Actor | N/A N/A |
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| 2020 | Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone | Actor | Self | 58 Average |
| 2020 | Visible: Out on Television | Actor | Self | 69 Fair |
| 2020 | Like a Boss | Actor | Barrett | 60 Fair |
| 2018 | POSE | Actor | Pray Tell | 81 Very good |
| 2018 | Every Act of Life | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
| 2017 | Broadway: The Next Generation | Actor | Self | 58 Average |
| 2014 | The Humbling | Actor | Prince | 56 Average |
| 2014 | Christmas in Rockefeller Center | Actor | N/A N/A |
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| 2011 | Heart of Broadway: The Ensemble Behind Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS | Actor | Himself | N/A N/A |
| 2011 | The Shoe | Actor | N/A N/A |
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| 2006 | All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise | Actor | Himself | 58 Average |
| 2006 | Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema | Actor | Self | 58 Average |
| 2004 | Noel | Actor | Randy | 58 Average |
| 2000 | The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy | Actor | Taylor | 59 Average |
| 2000 | Intern | Actor | Sebastian Niederfarb | 58 Average |
| 1999 | Colorz of Rage | Actor | Street Performer | 58 Average |
| 1997 | Anastasia | Actor | Ensemble and Character Vocals (voice) | 74 Good |
| 1996 | Twisted | Actor | Shiniqua, Angel's friend | 58 Average |
| 1984 | Raquel: Total beauty and fitness | Actor | 59 Average |
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| Camp | Actor | Mark | N/A N/A |
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Directing |
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| 2022 | Anything's Possible | Directing | Director | 58 Average |
| To Be Real | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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| Camp | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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Writing |
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| 2021 | Sanctuary | Writing | Writer | N/A N/A |
Production |
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| 2025 | I Was Born This Way | Production | Executive Producer | N/A N/A |
| 2024 | (pride/prom) | Production | Executive Producer | N/A N/A |
| 2022 | A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting | Production | Executive Producer | 58 Average |
| To Be Real | Production | Executive Producer | N/A N/A |
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Sound |
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| 2006 | Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema | Sound | Original Music Composer | 58 Average |