Billy Porter
Known for: Acting
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
Series
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Jackie Walker
1999
Series
Law & Order
Greg Ellison
1990
Series
The Simpsons
Desmond (voice)
1989
Series
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Self - Guest
2009
Series
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self
2015
Series
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self - Guest
2015
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self
2014
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self - Guest
2014
Series
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Self
2014
Series
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Self - Guest
2014
Series
The Daily Show
Self
1996
Series
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Self
2019
Series
Saturday Night Live
Self - Cameo (uncredited)
1975
Series
American Horror Story
Behold Chablis
2011
Series
The Graham Norton Show
Self
2007
Series
The Jennifer Hudson Show
2022
Series
Project Runway
Self - Guest Judge
2004
Series
The Late Late Show with James Corden
Self - Guest
2015
Series
The View
Self - Guest
1997
Series
The View
Self
1997
Series
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Self
2014
Series
Dancing with the Stars
Self - Guest Judge
2005
Series
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self - Guest
2003
Series
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Presenter
1944
Series
Newsnight
Self
1980
Series
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Self - Guest
1988
Series
Big Mouth
Ocean (voice)
2017
Series
Big Mouth
2017
Series
Sherri
Self - Guest
2022
Series
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
Self
2007
Series
MTV Video Music Awards
Self
1984
Series
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Self
2014
Series
Desus & Mero
Self - Illustrious Guest
2019
Series
Tamron Hall
Self - Guest
2019
Series
MTV Movie & TV Awards
Self - Presenter
1992
Series
Celebrity Family Feud
Self
2015
Series
The Drew Barrymore Show
Self
2020
Series
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder
Randall (voice)
2022
Series
The Oscars
Self
1953
Series
People's Choice Awards
Self - Presenter
1975
Series
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Self
2015
Series
Stars in the House
Self
2020
Series
The Twilight Zone
2019
Series
POSE
Pray Tell
2018
Film
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
Magno Stift
2026
Film
Anastasia
Ensemble and Character Vocals (voice)
1997
Series
Gossip Girl
Singer
2021
Series
Who Do You Think You Are?
Self
2010
Series
Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star
Self - Guest Judge
2019
Series
Dear...
Self
2020
Series
Trailblazer Honors
Self - Speaker
2014
Series
RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs The World
Self - Special Guest
2022
Series
Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?
Self
2022
Film
Cinderella
Fabulous Godmother
2021
Series
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Self - Panellist
2021
Series
Indie Sex
Self
2007
Series
Visible: Out on Television
Self
2020
Film
Like a Boss
Barrett
2020
Film
80 for Brady
Gugu
2023
Series
That's My Jam
Self - Guest
2021
Series
Middlemost Post
Recycle King (voice)
2021
Series
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Self - Guest
1996
Series
Live from the Other Side with Tyler Henry
Self
2024
Film
Noel
Randy
2004
Film
Our Son
Gabriel
2023
Film
Christmas Karma
The Ghost of Christmas Present
2025
Series
Equal
Narrator
2020
Series
Olivier Awards
Self - Host
1981
Film
The Humbling
Prince
2014
Series
My Happy Place
Self
2025
Film
The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy
Taylor
2000
Film
Broadway: The Next Generation
Self
Series
That Damn Michael Che
2021
Film
Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon
Self
2022
Series
Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story
Little Richard
1991
Film
Eric André Live Near Broadway
Self
2024
Film
Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema
Self
2006
Film
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love
Self - Guest
2023
Film
Little Richard: I Am Everything
Self
2023
Film
I Was Born This Way
Self
2025
Film
Where Love Lives: A Story of Dancefloor Culture & Expression
(Himself)
2021
Film
Intern
Sebastian Niederfarb
2000
Series
The Circuit
Self - Singer/Actor
2021
Film
Indie Sex: Teens
2008
Film
Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone
Self
2020
Film
Smoke, Lilies and Jade
2021
Film
Every Act of Life
Self
2018
Film
Disco's Revenge
Self
2024
Film
25 Years of Rent: Measured in Love
2021
Camp
Mark
Film
PRIDE: To Be Seen - A Soul of a Nation Presentation
Pray Tell (archive footage)
2022
Film
Raquel: Total Beauty and Fitness
1984
Film
All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise
Himself
2006
Film
Twisted
Shiniqua, Angel's friend
1996
Film
Queen of New York
2023
Series
The Grammys
Self
1959
Film
Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to All!
Self
2022
Film
Let the Canary Sing
Self
2023
Film
Billy Preston: That's the Way God Planned It
Self
2026
Film
Pose-a-Thon for Pride
Self
2020
Film
Truth Be Told
2023
Film
Heart of Broadway: The Ensemble Behind Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
Himself
2011
Film
Colorz of Rage
Street Performer
1999
The Shoe
2011