In addition, he's a celebrated theater actor, having won a Tony Award for his performance in Kinky Boots. Billy Porter won a Primetime Emmy for his performance as ballroom emcee Pray Tell, a handsome and flashy smooth talker who can diss and swoon in the same breath. As his long-time lover loses his battle against AIDS, Pray Tell discovers, like Blanca, he is also HIV-positive.

Considering that Porter himself was present for the AIDS crisis in the 1990s, that hit home, although playing Pray Tell has also been healing. The A.V. ; Most recently, he's best known for his Emmy-winning performance as Pray Tell on FX's Pose, though he's appeared in American Horror Story and Law & Order. Billy Porter is an actor, writer, and red carper superstar.

Pray Tell is seen as a mentor within the ballroom community, yet he rarely opens up about his own struggles.

Porter is a Tony® and Grammy Award-winning, and Golden Globe®-nominated, actor, singer, director, composer, and playwright from Pittsburgh, PA. His electric portrayal of “Pray Tell” in Pose earned him a Golden Globe nomination and a Critics’ Choice Award nomination. Pose was also nominated for Outstanding Drama Series but lost to Game of Thrones. What goes into bringing that character to life?

Viewers of Pose know that Billy Porter's character on the show is HIV-positive and worried for his future, given how deadly the virus was at the time. He is married to Adam Smith. Club: Pose is full of wonderful characters, but Pray Tell might be the breakout—he’s certainly the most quotable. Billy Porter won a Primetime Emmy for his performance as ballroom emcee Pray Tell, a handsome and flashy smooth talker who can diss and swoon in the same breath. As his long-time lover loses his battle against AIDS, Pray Tell discovers, like Blanca, he is also HIV-positive. Billy Porter has been a working actor for 30 years, starring in Pose and Broadway hits like Kinky Boots. ABC News December 21, 2019 ‘Pose’ star Billy Porter says his character gave him a chance to be ‘authentic’ For the ABC News special, “The Year: 2019,” Porter said he can relate to his character Pray Tell on the hit FX show because “I’ve already lived this, so all I have to do is show up and be present.”

Billy Porter of FX's "Pose" is the first openly gay black man to win the Emmy for lead actor in a drama series. Here's what to know. Pray Tell is seen as a mentor within the ballroom community, yet he rarely opens up about his own struggles.

Porter was nominated for a Golden Globe earlier this year but lost to Bodyguard ’s Richard Madden.

Billy Porter as ballroom emcee Pray Tell in “Pose” knew his character was meant to be a fashion icon. Co-creator, writer and director Steven Canals, left, and actor Billy Porter in costume as Pray Tell during the filming of a ballroom scene on the set of “Pose.” Billy Porter (born on September 21, 1969) is an American actor who portrays Behold Chablis, a warlock seeking validation for his kind, in the eighth season of American Horror Story, subtitled Apocalypse. ; And in the latest casting news, Porter will be playing the Fairy …