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

• 2026The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping — Magno Stift
• 2025Christmas Karma — The Ghost of Christmas Present
• 2025Freeman Vines — Executive Producer
• 2025I Was Born This Way — Self, Executive Producer
• 2024(pride/prom) — Executive Producer
• 202380 for Brady — Gugu
• Accused — Director
• 2023Our Son — Gabriel
• 2023Queen of New York
• 2023Truth Be Told
• 2022A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting — Executive Producer
• 2022Anything's Possible — Director
• 2022PRIDE: To Be Seen - A Soul of a Nation Presentation — Pray Tell (archive footage)
• The Jennifer Hudson Show
• The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder — Randall (voice)
• 202125 Years of Rent: Measured in Love
• 2021Cinderella — Fabulous Godmother
• Gossip Girl — Singer
• Middlemost Post — Recycle King (voice)
• 2021Sanctuary — Writer
• 2021Smoke, Lilies and Jade
• That Damn Michael Che
• 2021Where Love Lives: A Story of Dancefloor Culture & Expression — (Himself)
• Equal — Narrator
• 2020Like a Boss — Barrett
• The Twilight Zone
• POSE — Pray Tell
• Big Mouth — Ocean (voice)
• 2014The Humbling — Prince
• 2012The Savoy King: Chick Webb & the Music That Changed America — Dizzy Gillespie (voice)
• American Horror Story — Behold Chablis
• 2011The Shoe
• 2008Indie Sex: Teens
• 2006Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema — Self, Original Music Composer
• 2004Noel — Randy
• 2000Intern — Sebastian Niederfarb
• 2000The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy — Taylor
• 1999Colorz of Rage — Street Performer
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — Jackie Walker
• 1996Twisted — Shiniqua, Angel's friend
• Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story — Little Richard
• Law & Order — Greg Ellison
• The Simpsons — Desmond (voice)
• 1984Raquel: Total Beauty and Fitness
• Camp — Mark, Director
• To Be Real — Director, Executive Producer

Appearances as themselves (62)

• 2026Billy Preston: That's the Way God Planned It — Self
• My Happy Place — Self
• 2024Disco's Revenge — Self
• 2024Eric André Live Near Broadway — Self
• Live from the Other Side with Tyler Henry — Self
• 2023Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love — Self - Guest
• 2023Let the Canary Sing — Self
• 2023Little Richard: I Am Everything — Self
• 2022Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon — Self
• 2022Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to All! — Self
• RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs The World — Self - Special Guest
• Sherri — Self - Guest
• Who's Talking to Chris Wallace? — Self
• Never Mind the Buzzcocks — Self - Panellist
• That's My Jam — Self - Guest
• The Circuit — Self - Singer/Actor
• Dear... — Self
• 2020Pose-a-Thon for Pride — Self
• Stars in the House — Self
• The Drew Barrymore Show — Self
• 2020Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone — Self
• Visible: Out on Television — Self
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire — Self - Contestant
• Desus & Mero — Self - Illustrious Guest
• Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star — Self - Guest Judge
• The Kelly Clarkson Show — Self
• The Tamron Hall Show — Self - Guest
• 2018Every Act of Life — Self
• Celebrity Family Feud — Self
• Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter — Self
• The Late Late Show with James Corden — Self - Guest
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — Self, Self - Guest
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver — Self
• Late Night with Seth Meyers — Self, Self - Guest
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon — Self, Self - Guest
• Trailblazer Honors — Self - Speaker
• Variety Studio: Actors on Actors — Self
• 2011Heart of Broadway: The Ensemble Behind Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS — Himself
• Who Do You Think You Are? — Self
• Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen — Self - Guest
• Indie Sex — Self
• Keeping Up with the Kardashians — Self
• The Graham Norton Show — Self
• 2006All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise — Himself
• Germany's Next Topmodel — Self - Guest Judge
• Dancing with the Stars — Self - Guest Judge
• Project Runway — Self - Guest Judge
• Jimmy Kimmel Live! — Self - Guest
• The View — Self - Guest
• The Daily Show — Self
• The Rosie O'Donnell Show — Self - Guest
• MTV Movie & TV Awards — Self - Presenter
• LIVE with Kelly and Mark — Self - Guest
• MTV Video Music Awards — Self
• Olivier Awards — Self - Host
• Newsnight — Self
• People's Choice Awards — Self - Presenter
• Saturday Night Live — Self - Cameo (uncredited)
• The Grammys — Self
• The Oscars — Self
• Golden Globe Awards — Self - Presenter
• Broadway: The Next Generation — Self