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.
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.
External links
Filmography (Movies)
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
Character:Magno Stift
Release Date:18/11/2026
Christmas Karma
Character:The Ghost of Christmas Present
Release Date:14/11/2025
I Was Born This Way
Character:Self
Release Date:05/06/2025
Disco’s Revenge
Character:
Release Date:02/05/2024
Eric André Live Near Broadway
Character:Self
Release Date:19/01/2024
Queen of New York
Character:
Release Date:16/10/2023
Our Son
Character:Gabriel
Release Date:14/10/2023
Truth Be Told
Character:
Release Date:20/07/2023
Let the Canary Sing
Character:Self
Release Date:14/06/2023
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love
Character:Self - Guest
Release Date:26/04/2023
Little Richard: I Am Everything
Character:Self
Release Date:11/04/2023
80 for Brady
Character:Gugu
Release Date:03/02/2023
Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to All!
Character:Self
Release Date:20/12/2022
Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon
Character:Self
Release Date:06/09/2022
PRIDE: To Be Seen - A Soul of a Nation Presentation
Character:Pray Tell (archive footage)
Release Date:09/06/2022
Cinderella
Character:Fabulous Godmother
Release Date:03/09/2021
Smoke, Lilies and Jade
Character:
Release Date:13/08/2021
Where Love Lives: A Story of Dancefloor Culture & Expression
Character:(Himself)
Release Date:18/03/2021
25 Years of Rent: Measured in Love
Character:
Release Date:02/03/2021
Pose-a-Thon for Pride
Character:
Release Date:26/06/2020
Marvelous Moments with Maisel
Character:Self (Moderator)
Release Date:11/05/2020
Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone
Character:Self
Release Date:26/04/2020
Like a Boss
Character:Barrett
Release Date:09/01/2020
Giving and Receiving
Character:Pray Tell
Release Date:17/06/2018
Every Act of Life
Character:Self
Release Date:23/04/2018
Broadway: The Next Generation
Character:Self
Release Date:16/11/2017
The Humbling
Character:Prince
Release Date:31/12/2014
Heart of Broadway: The Ensemble Behind Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
Character:Himself
Release Date:09/09/2011
The Shoe
Character:
Release Date:21/07/2011
Indie Sex: Teens
Character:
Release Date:04/01/2008
All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise
Character:Himself
Release Date:06/04/2006
Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema
Character:Self
Release Date:12/02/2006
Noel
Character:Randy
Release Date:12/11/2004
The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy
Character:Taylor
Release Date:01/02/2000
Intern
Character:Sebastian Niederfarb
Release Date:21/01/2000
Colorz of Rage
Character:Street Performer
Release Date:01/01/1999
Anastasia
Character:Ensemble and Character Vocals (voice)
Release Date:20/11/1997
Twisted
Character:Shiniqua, Angel's friend
Release Date:14/11/1996
Raquel: Total Beauty and Fitness
Character:
Release Date:10/10/1984
Television Appearances
My Happy Place
Character:Self
Live from the Other Side with Tyler Henry
Character:Self
Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?
Character:Self
The Jennifer Hudson Show
Character:
Sherri
Character:Self - Guest
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder
Character:Randall (voice)
RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs The World
Character:Self - Special Guest
That's My Jam
Character:Self - Guest
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Character:Self - Panellist
The Circuit
Character:Self - Singer/Actor
Middlemost Post
Character:Recycle King (voice)
Gossip Girl
Character:Singer
That Damn Michael Che
Character:
Equal
Character:Narrator
The Drew Barrymore Show
Character:Self
Dear...
Character:Self
Stars in the House
Character:Self
Visible: Out on Television
Character:Self
Tamron Hall
Character:Self - Guest
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Character:Self
The Twilight Zone
Character:
Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star
Character:Self - Guest Judge
Desus & Mero
Character:Self - Illustrious Guest
POSE
Character:Pray Tell
Big Mouth
Character:Ocean (voice)
Big Mouth
Character:
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Character:Self
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Character:Self - Guest
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Character:Self
Celebrity Family Feud
Character:Self
The Late Late Show with James Corden
Character:Self - Guest
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Character:Self
Trailblazer Honors
Character:Self - Speaker
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Character:Self - Guest
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Character:Self
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Character:Self - Guest
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Character:Self
American Horror Story
Character:Behold Chablis
Who Do You Think You Are?
Character:Self
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Character:Self - Guest
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
Character:Self
Indie Sex
Character:Self
The Graham Norton Show
Character:Self
Dancing with the Stars
Character:Self - Guest Judge
Project Runway
Character:Self - Guest Judge
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Character:Self - Guest
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Character:Jackie Walker
The View
Character:Self - Guest
The View
Character:Self
The Daily Show
Character:Self
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Character:Self - Guest
MTV Movie & TV Awards
Character:Self - Presenter
Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story
Character:Little Richard
Law & Order
Character:Greg Ellison
The Simpsons
Character:Desmond (voice)
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Character:Self - Guest
MTV Video Music Awards
Character:Self
Newsnight
Character:Self
Saturday Night Live
Character:Self - Cameo (uncredited)
People's Choice Awards
Character:Self - Presenter
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest
Character:Self - Co-Host (New Orleans)
The Grammys
Character:Self
The Oscars
Character:Self
Golden Globe Awards
Character:Self - Presenter
Images
