American singer and actor Billy Porter, well-known for his role as Pray Tell in the TV series ‘Pose’, will star in a biopic film about novelist and activist James Baldwin.
Based on David Leemin’s 1994 book ‘James Baldwin: A Biography’, the biopic will be written by Porter himself alongside Dan McCabe.
Considered one of the most prolific writers of his time, Baldwin explored many different themes including but not limited to masculinity, sexuality, race, the civil rights movement, and the gay liberation movement. In his novels, most of the protagonists were often African American and gay and bisexual men. His most acclaimed works include ‘Giovanni’s Room’, ‘Go Tell It on the Mountain’, and his first essay collection, ‘Notes of a Native Son’. In 2018, one of his novels, ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’, was adapted into a film.
Porter said in a statement, “As a Black queer man on this planet with relative consciousness I find myself, like James Baldwin said, ‘in a rage all the time.’ I am because James was. I stand on James Baldwin’s shoulders, and I intend to expand his legacy for generations to come.”
Porter had repeatedly expressed his love and admiration for Baldwin, especially at the 2019 Emmy Awards where he was nominated and eventually won the Outstanding Lead Actor award for his portrayal as Pray Tell in ‘Pose’ — the first gay black man to do so.
Porter is also known for his Tony Award-winning performance as Lola in Kinky Boots and for becoming the first man to play the role of the Fairy Godmother in Prime VIdeo’s ‘Cinderella’.
As of writing time, there are no details yet for the title of the biopic and when it will be released.
