Billy Porter's 11 best roles and appearances

Billy Porter is proof that it's never too late to succeed — and there's no such thing as an overnight success. The Emmy, Grammy, and Tony winner has been in the business for decades, inspiring many with his unapologetic approach to roles both on stage and screen

EW honors the breadth of the LGBTQ+ icon's work, which includes cult classics, Broadway smashes, and more.

01 of 11

The First Wives Club soundtrack (1996)

FIRST WIVES CLUB, Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton, Bette Midler, 1996 — Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton, and Bette Midler wearing white pantsuits in the film The First Wives Club. Everett Collection

On top of his numerous accolades, Porter is also a former Star Search winner. The multihyphenate won the Male Vocalist award in 1992, the same year in which future superstar Britney Spears competed as a junior vocalist.

Giving it a go as a recording artist while simultaneously finding his footing on Broadway, the entertainer made it onto the soundtrack of the beloved comedy The First Wives Club starring Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton after Midler heard him sing "Love Is on the Way" at a party.

02 of 11

The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000)

THE BROKEN HEARTS CLUB: A ROMANTIC COMEDY, (top l-r): Billy Porter, John Mahoney, Ben Weber, Timothy — Billy Porter (left) in The Broken Hearts Club. Everett Collection

The groundbreaking romantic comedy from writer-director Greg Berlanti, centered on a group of gay friends in L.A., is often considered to be ahead of the times.

Sure, with stars like Timothy Olyphant, Dean Cain, and Zach Braff, it's short on out gay actors playing the lead roles considering when it was released, but Porter more than delivers as the scene-stealing Taylor.

03 of 11

Kinky Boots (2013)

Kinky Boots the Musical — Billy Porter in the musical Kinky Boots. Matthew Murphy

Even though Broadway musical adaptations of films have been all the rage on the Great White Way, rarely do the shows actually eclipse their source materials.

Kinky Boots, a Best Musical winner at the 2013 Tony Awards, is one of the most notable exceptions. Much of that is due to Porter's star-making, Tony-winning turn as drag queen Lola, elevating the already awards-worthy book by Harvey Fierstein and songs by Cyndi Lauper.

04 of 11

Shuffle Along (2016)

Shuffle Along, or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed — Billy Porter in the Broadway musical Shuffle Along. Julieta Cervantes

It's an absolute shame to see history repeat itself, and this show — whose full title is Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed — become as forgotten as its subject matter.

Much of it sees Porter partner up with Brian Stokes Mitchell, as they tap danced the house down alongside Broadway bona fides like Audra McDonald, Joshua Henry, Brandon Victor Dixon, and Adrienne Warren.

05 of 11

Pose (2018–21)

If Kinky Boots led to Porter's reintroduction to Hollywood, Pose — the Ryan Murphy-produced drama about New York City's ballroom scene during the era of Madonna's "Vogue" and Paris Is Burning — was his reintroduction to the world.

After his first season as master of ceremonies Pray Tell, Porter became the first out gay Black actor to be nominated and win in a lead acting category at the Emmys. The award was deservedly so given, what with how he balanced humor and heartbreak in a story arc that emphasized the high highs and low lows of gay nightlife in the 1980s.

06 of 11

Taylor Swift's "You Need to Calm Down" music video (2019)

By the time Taylor Swift sought to gather LGBTQ+ talent to be in her music video, an eventual Video of the Year winner at the 2019 VMAs, there's no way she could have done it without booking Porter.

Dressed in 1970s protest drag, the actor stands defiantly on the frontline between an angry homophobic mob and queer people just trying to live their life.

07 of 11

Like a Boss (2020)

Porter's entry back into film post-career refresh allowed him to flex his comedic chops among the supporting cast, alongside fellow scene-stealer Jennifer Coolidge.

His hilarious "tragic moment" opposite stars Rose Byrne and Tiffany Haddish is something to witness, and is even the highlight of the movie's trailer.

08 of 11

Red carpet with the shade hat (2020)

62nd Annual Grammy Awards, Arrivals, Los Angeles, USA - 26 Jan 2020 — Billy Porter on the red carpet at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. Christopher Polk/Rolling Stone/Shutterstock

Ever since he opted to wear a tuxedo gown to the 2019 Oscars, Porter has become the doyen of out-of-the-box, gender-bending red-carpet looks.

Our personal favorite is his sparkly turquoise ensemble at the 2020 Grammys, which was part-rhinestone cowboy, part-lampshade, with the fringe hanging from the hat moving at the push of a button to reveal the actor's expertly made-up mug.

09 of 11

The Twilight Zone (2020)

Porter only has a quick guest spot in the second season of Jordan Peele's reboot of the iconic sci-fi anthology series The Twilight Zone, but he makes the most of it as the proprietor of a psychic parlor.

The role, in the episode titled "The Who of You," involved a lot of body swaps, and earned him a guest acting nomination at the Saturn Awards.

10 of 11

Cinderella (2021)

Porter's role as the fairy godmother, or, the "Fab G," was a showstopper in this wild reimagining of the classic tale.

Writer-director Kay Cannon actually wrote the role for him, and teased ahead of the film's release that although he's only in it for less than 15 minutes, "He'll be your favorite part."

11 of 11

80 for Brady (2023)

Rita Moreno, Jane Fonda, Billy Porter, Lily Tomlin, and Sally Field in '80 for Brady'. Paramount/Everett

Porter got to work alongside acting legends Jane Fonda, Sally Field, Rita Moreno, and Lily Tomlin in this goofy buddy comedy. The multihyphenate played Gugu, the choreographer for the Super Bowl halftime show who helps sneak the quartet of best friends into the stadium.

"I was trying to find a way to not dance well," Moreno told EW of the memorable sequence in which the four women pretend to be backup dancers in Porter's troupe. "I was dancing down. Because the first thing I ran into when we realized we had to do this little dance was that everybody, to the woman, said, 'Oh, my God, but you're the dancer.' And they wouldn't stop with that."