Billy Porter

Acting

Billy Porter

Born September 21, 1969Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA106 credits

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

Filmography

Christmas Karma
2025Christmas Karma
as The Ghost of Christmas PresentMovie
Freeman Vines
2025Freeman Vines
Executive ProducerMovie
(pride/prom)
2024(pride/prom)
Executive ProducerMovie
Our Son
2023Our Son
as GabrielMovie
80 for Brady
202380 for Brady
as GuguMovie
Accused
2023Accused
DirectorTV
Sherri
2022Sherri
as Self - GuestTV
That's My Jam
2021That's My Jam
as Self - GuestTV
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
2021Never Mind the Buzzcocks
as Self - PanellistTV
Cinderella
2021Cinderella
as Fabulous GodmotherMovie
Sanctuary
2021Sanctuary
WriterMovie
The Circuit
2021The Circuit
as Self - Singer/ActorTV
Middlemost Post
2021Middlemost Post
as Recycle King (voice)TV
Gossip Girl
2021Gossip Girl
as SingerTV
Equal
2020Equal
as NarratorTV
Dear...
2020Dear...
as SelfTV
Like a Boss
2020Like a Boss
as BarrettMovie
Tamron Hall
2019Tamron Hall
as Self - GuestTV
Desus & Mero
2019Desus & Mero
as Self - Illustrious GuestTV
POSE
2018POSE
as Pray TellTV
Big Mouth
2017Big Mouth
as Ocean (voice)TV
The Humbling
2014The Humbling
as PrinceMovie
Trailblazer Honors
2014Trailblazer Honors
as Self - SpeakerTV
American Horror Story
2011American Horror Story
as Behold ChablisTV
Indie Sex
2007Indie Sex
as SelfTV
Dancing with the Stars
2005Dancing with the Stars
as Self - Guest JudgeTV
Project Runway
2004Project Runway
as Self - Guest JudgeTV
Noel
2004Noel
as RandyMovie
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003Jimmy Kimmel Live!
as Self - GuestTV
Intern
2000Intern
as Sebastian NiederfarbMovie
Colorz of Rage
1999Colorz of Rage
as Street PerformerMovie
Anastasia
1997Anastasia
as Ensemble and Character Vocals (voice)Movie
The View
1997The View
as Self - GuestTV
Twisted
1996Twisted
as Shiniqua, Angel's friendMovie
MTV Movie & TV Awards
1992MTV Movie & TV Awards
as Self - PresenterTV
Law & Order
1990Law & Order
as Greg EllisonTV
The Simpsons
1989The Simpsons
as Desmond (voice)TV
Newsnight
1980Newsnight
as SelfTV
Saturday Night Live
1975Saturday Night Live
as Self - Cameo (uncredited)TV
People's Choice Awards
1975People's Choice Awards
as Self - PresenterTV
Golden Globe Awards
1944Golden Globe Awards
as Self - PresenterTV
C
Camp
as MarkMovie
T
To Be Real
DirectorMovie