Billy Porter
Acting • Born 1969-09-21
Biography
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.
Filmography
104 credits
80 for Brady
Movie • 2023
Gugu
The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy
Movie • 2000
Taylor
Camp
Movie
Mark
Little Richard: I Am Everything
Movie • 2023
Self
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love
Movie • 2023
Self - Guest
Twisted
Movie • 1996
Shiniqua, Angel's friend
Truth Be Told
Movie • 2023
The Shoe
Movie • 2011
Queen of New York
Movie • 2023
Our Son
Movie • 2023
Gabriel
PRIDE: To Be Seen - A Soul of a Nation Presentation
Movie • 2022
Pray Tell (archive footage)
Pose-a-Thon for Pride
Movie • 2020
Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone
Movie • 2020
Self
Noel
Movie • 2004
Randy
Eric André Live Near Broadway
Movie • 2024
Self
Raquel: Total Beauty and Fitness
Movie • 1984
Broadway: The Next Generation
Movie
Self
Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to All!
Movie • 2022
Self
Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon
Movie • 2022
Self
All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise
Movie • 2006
Himself
Christmas Karma
Movie • 2025
The Ghost of Christmas Present
Anastasia
Movie • 1997
Ensemble and Character Vocals (voice)
Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema
Movie • 2006
Self
Intern
Movie • 2000
Sebastian Niederfarb
Every Act of Life
Movie • 2018
Self
Like a Boss
Movie • 2020
Barrett
Cinderella
Movie • 2021
Fabulous Godmother
The Humbling
Movie • 2014
Prince
Smoke, Lilies and Jade
Movie • 2021
25 Years of Rent: Measured in Love
Movie • 2021
Heart of Broadway: The Ensemble Behind Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
Movie • 2011
Himself
Where Love Lives: A Story of Dancefloor Culture & Expression
Movie • 2021
(Himself)
Disco’s Revenge
Movie • 2024
Let the Canary Sing
Movie • 2023
Self
I Was Born This Way
Movie • 2025
Self
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
Movie • 2026
Magno Stift
Colorz of Rage
Movie • 1999
Street Performer
Indie Sex: Teens
Movie • 2008
Giving and Receiving
Movie • 2018
Pray Tell
Billy Preston: That's the Way God Planned It
Movie • 2026
Self
Tamron Hall
TV • 2019
Self - Guest
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
TV • 1988
Self - Guest
Law & Order
TV • 1990
Greg Ellison
That's My Jam
TV • 2021
Self - Guest
The Circuit
TV • 2021
Self - Singer/Actor
Middlemost Post
TV • 2021
Recycle King (voice)
The Daily Show
TV • 1996
Self
The Graham Norton Show
TV • 2007
Self
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
TV • 1999
Jackie Walker
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
TV • 2015
Self
Gossip Girl
TV • 2021
Singer
The Late Late Show with James Corden
TV • 2015
Self - Guest
Dear...
TV • 2020
Self
MTV Video Music Awards
TV • 1984
Self
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
TV • 2021
Self - Panellist
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
TV • 2014
Self
Dancing with the Stars
TV • 2005
Self - Guest Judge
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder
TV • 2022
Randall (voice)
Late Night with Seth Meyers
TV • 2014
Self
Big Mouth
TV • 2017
Ocean (voice)
The Jennifer Hudson Show
TV • 2022
Indie Sex
TV • 2007
Self
The Kelly Clarkson Show
TV • 2019
Self
Sherri
TV • 2022
Self - Guest
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
TV • 2014
Self
POSE
TV • 2018
Pray Tell
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest
TV • 1972
Self - Co-Host (New Orleans)
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
TV • 1996
Self - Guest
The View
TV • 1997
Self - Guest
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
TV • 2009
Self - Guest
Who Do You Think You Are?
TV • 2010
Self
Trailblazer Honors
TV • 2014
Self - Speaker
The View
TV • 1997
Self
Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?
TV • 2022
Self
RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs The World
TV • 2022
Self - Special Guest
Project Runway
TV • 2004
Self - Guest Judge
Stars in the House
TV • 2020
Self
Saturday Night Live
TV • 1975
Self - Cameo (uncredited)
American Horror Story
TV • 2011
Behold Chablis
Celebrity Family Feud
TV • 2015
Self
That Damn Michael Che
TV • 2021
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
TV • 2015
Self
The Oscars
TV • 1953
Self
Visible: Out on Television
TV • 2020
Self
The Simpsons
TV • 1989
Desmond (voice)
The Twilight Zone
TV • 2019
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
TV • 2014
Self - Guest
The Drew Barrymore Show
TV • 2020
Self
Equal
TV • 2020
Narrator
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
TV • 2007
Self
Desus & Mero
TV • 2019
Self - Illustrious Guest
Live from the Other Side with Tyler Henry
TV • 2024
Self
Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story
TV • 1991
Little Richard
My Happy Place
TV • 2025
Self
Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star
TV • 2019
Self - Guest Judge
Big Mouth
TV • 2017
The Grammys
TV • 1959
Self
Golden Globe Awards
TV • 1944
Self - Presenter
Newsnight
TV • 1980
Self
Late Night with Seth Meyers
TV • 2014
Self - Guest
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
TV • 2003
Self - Guest
People's Choice Awards
TV • 1975
Self - Presenter
MTV Movie & TV Awards
TV • 1992
Self - Presenter
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
TV • 2015
Self - Guest