Billy Porter has described his breakthrough role in the Broadway musical Kinky Boots as "a dream fulfilled".
The Pose star told WhyNow that he fulfilled one of his dreams when he was cast as the queer character Lola in the 2013 musical at a time when there were so few queer roles and LGBTQ+ stories being told on Broadway.
The 54-year-old reflected on the progress that has been made in the theatre world when Alex Newall and J. Harrison Ghee became the first openly non-binary actors to win Tony awards earlier this year.
"That was because of me and my generation," the Cinderella star said, explaining that he believes that his generation's refusal to accept what was the norm at that time helped to change the industry.
"I couldn't stop weeping, you know, because when I came out, there was nothing for us to do," he continued. "There were no parts for us; there were no roles for us. There were no real three-dimensional human beings for us to get on stage and play."
Billy won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical and the Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album for Kinky Boots. Following his 2019 Emmy win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Pose, he is now an Oscar away from becoming an EGOT.
