‘I am no clown’: Billy Porter on how it’s taken the industry over two decades to take him seriously
Billy Porter says he’s struggled to be taken seriously over the years – as he warns critics that while he “may wear dresses on the red carpet, make no mistake, I am no clown”.
The Emmy-winning actor – whose movies include Cinderella, The Intern and Like A Boss – tells Sky News it’s taken around 25 years to be treated like a professional artist.
“My brand, once I got in, has been ‘fabulous’, ‘Billy Porter is fabulous’, ‘Billy Porter does fabulous’.
“I am a very serious human being – and the conversation that I am having with the world is ‘fabulous’ and ‘serious’ do co-exist.”
His latest movie is Our Son, alongside Welsh actor Luke Evans, a moving drama that tells the story of a same-sex couple navigating the difficulties of co-parenting through a divorce.
After 13-years together, Nicky and Gabriel find themselves squabbling over the custody of their eight-year-old son, Owen.
Porter and Evans also collaborated on a song for the film’s soundtrack – Always Be My Man – which they performed at its Tribeca Festival premiere last year.
Porter says he hopes the film will help change some perceptions about him – and about the nature of gay relationships, too.
(R-L) Porter and Luke Evans. Pic: Universal
‘Let’s talk about what happens after’
“To have it be about humans – not a heterosexual, not a homosexual – but the breakdown of a human marriage, was really important to me.
“Because as a 54-year-old black, out, queer – whatever you want to call it – gay man, who’s been in the business for over 30 years, I’ve been watching ‘coming out stories’ for 30 years.
“I am tired of them. We got that story. Let’s now talk about what happens after coming out.”
The actor thinks the world has come a long way when it comes to how same-sex relationships are treated and played out on screen.
He says we should “honour” that, before complaining about where we’re not.
Porter became the first openly gay man to win an Emmy award for Best Actor in a drama series for his role in Pose back in 2019.
But the star says he was deeply disappointed by the energy around the film’s release in the US, late last year.
Pic: Universal
‘It hurts my feelings’
Released with little fanfare, it’s been compared to divorce dramas including Kramer Vs Kramer and Marriage Story – and largely judged to be wanting.
Porter says: “They just threw it out. Nobody saw it. Nobody even knows it’s out. And that hurts my feelings. It does. It deserves better than that.”
He goes on: “There was no care. With that said, it does not diminish the value – this will be there and people will be able to find it.
“Our movie – because it’s a movie – will have a life. And I’m excited about that life. I’m excited about the release in the UK and Europe. It’s already having a life that didn’t exist [here in] America.”
Porter says the film wasn’t given a chance to really take off in the US, but hopes it may do just that here for its UK release.
Our Son in UK cinemas now.
Entertainment
‘I’m shocked at how fragile I am still’: Cumberbatch and Colman on protecting their sanity from perils of social media
Actor Benedict Cumberbatch says he’s shocked at how “fragile” he still is – despite years in the spotlight and success in the industry.
It might seem like the Doctor Strange star and The Crown actress Olivia Colman have it all when it comes to money and success – but they are also human like the rest of us.
The pair lead the cast of new satirical black comedy The Roses, which sees picture-perfect couple Ivy and Theo Rose – a rising star chef and ambitious architect – raise their two children in California, while chasing their own dreams.
‘I am shocked at how fragile I am’
But behind its dark humour and comic language, the film also looks at the realities of power imbalance, insecurity and wounded pride – in even the strongest of relationships.
And 49-year-old Cumberbatch – whose character faces a major setback in his career – tells Sky News that in real life the glare of social media only intensifies those type of situations.
“I am shocked at how fragile I am still.
“I don’t go anywhere near it [social media] because of that.
“It’s like walking into a place where people want to marry you or kill you. Those extremes.
“I think we will get to a stage, a corporate culture that’s now manifested around it where people are obliged to do that in order to sell their lives, and therefore their brand and what they do for a living.”
Co-star Colman – who’s long-shunned the online world – agrees.
Cumberbatch and Colman in The Roses. Pic: Jaap Buitendijk/ Searchlight Pictures
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“I’m afraid I am very thin-skinned.
“I don’t look at any of it. My husband will look at a review and if it’s nice he’ll show me – but if it’s anything mean he knows to just go ‘don’t look – don’t look.’
“You just have to learn to be thicker-skinned.
“But actually, I think we need people who are sensitive and kind.”
‘Don’t do it… delete it all’
Colman – now 51, and whose leading role in The Favourite bagged her an Academy Award in 2019 – says no amount of experience and success can shield her from criticism.
“My advice to a young’un – sort of dipping their toe into the world of social media for the first time is absolutely don’t do it.
“Delete it all. If you want a happy life, don’t have any of it. I’ve never had it.”
The movie – directed by Meet The Parents’ Jay Roach with The Favourite screenwriter Tony McNamara – also calls into question the notion of success – asking, is it really possible to have it all?
Or is sacrifice inevitable when it comes to spinning the plates of a high-flying career, marriage and parenthood?
Cumberbatch admits “you can’t do it all without there being a cost”.
“You just have to weigh up what those balances are,” he adds.
Colman says “there are I suppose little sacrifices along the way” – from both sides of a relationship.
The comedy drama offers a fresh take on Warren Adler’s novel The War Of The Roses – and the 1989 hit film adaptation- starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.
Colman and Cumberbatch – both producers on the film – insist they weren’t daunted by that though.
“We wanted to find a project to do together, and we have utter respect for the iconic status of the film and book,” explains Cumberbatch.
“Hopefully this will have its own place in the culture – it’s very different, it’s not a remake – it’s a reimagined jumping-on point.”
“But beyond that, it’s very different,” adds Colman.
Former Doctor Who Ncuti Gatwa and Barbie’s Kate McKinnon also form the cast.
The Roses is out in UK cinemas now.
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