Billy Porter

Billy Porter is an Emmy, Grammy and two-time Tony Award-winning actor, singer, director, composer, and playwright. He starred as Pray Tell in the FX series “Pose,” for which he received an Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series -- the first openly gay man to do so -- in addition to Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations.

On television, Porter appeared in Baz Luhrman’s “The Get Down” as well as “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “The Big C,” “Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story”,” and “American Horror Story: Apocalypse,” among others, as well as appeared as a "Dancing With the Stars" judge in season 32. Under the direction of Barry Levinson, Porter co-starred in "The Humbling" alongside Al Pacino and Greta Gerwig. His other film credits include "Noel," "The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy," "Intern," "Anastasia," "Twisted," "Cinderella" and "80 For Brady."

A veteran of the theater, Porter originated the role of Lola in the smash hit Broadway musical "Kinky Boots," for which he won the 2013 Drama Desk and Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Musical. His extensive list of Broadway acting credits include: "Shuffle Along," "Miss Saigon," "Five Guys Named Moe," "Grease," and "Smokey Joe’s Café." His one-man show, "Ghetto Superstar: The Man That I Am," debuted at The Public Theater in conjunction with City Theatre of Pittsburgh and was nominated for a 2005 GLAAD Media Award.

Porter began his music career in 1997 with the release of his self-titled (aka Untitled) debut album which spawned the Top 10 “Bubbling Under” single, “Show Me,” and the monster ballad “Love Is On The Way.” He went on to release At the Corner of Broadway + Soul, Billy’s Back on Broadway and The Soul of Richard Rodgers featuring Pentatonix, India.Arie, Leslie Odom Jr. and Cynthia Erivo, among others. Porter scored his first #1 with “Love Yourself” in 2019 on the US Dance Club Songs Chart. He followed that up with his 2020 reimagining of the legendary Buffalo Springfield anthem, “For What It’s Worth,” and a fierce collab with The Shapeshifters on “Finally Ready.” More recently, Porter covered the Juliet Roberts club classic “Caught in The Middle” for Red Hot + Free, which supports underserved communities afflicted with HIV/AIDS, and his single "Love Yourself" premiered as #1 on Billboard's Club/Dance Songs Chart. His new album, *The Black Mona Lisa," arrives soon.

Porter has directed a wide range of productions, including Dan McCabe's "The Purists" and revivals of George C. Wolf's "The Colored Museum" and "Top Dog/Underdog" at the Huntington Theater. He has also directed acclaimed works like "The Wiz," and conceived the musical revue "Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Music of Stevie Wonder" featuring Chaka Khan. Other notable credits include "Being Alive," "Once On This Island" (NAACP Theatre Award Winner), "Five Guys Named Moe," and "RENT" (Associate Director, Off-Broadway revival). He made his London directorial debut in 2009 and wrote the off-Broadway play "While I Yet Live." His directorial film debut, “Anything’s Possible,” dropped in the summer of 2022 to much acclaim.

Porter is a graduate of The Professional Program in Screenwriting at University of California at Los Angeles and is an adjunct professor at his alma mater Carnegie Mellon University School Of Drama, where he has directed productions of "Company" and "Letters From ‘Nam." Additionally, Porter has received honorary doctorates from Washington & Jefferson College and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

Porter was included on TIME's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020. In 2022, he won another Tony Award for Best Musical as a producer for the musical "A Strange Loop" and two years later, was honored with the Tony's Isabelle Stevenson Award in recognition of his work with the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and Entertainment Community Fund.