Billy Porter Makes Emmys History with Pose Best Actor Win

Billy Porter made history at the 71st annual Primetime Emmy Awards Sunday. The star of the FX drama Pose became the first openly gay black man to win Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series at the Emmys, the ceremony's trophy for best actor.

Porter plays Pray Tell on Pose, a father figure to young kids in the ballroom scene depicted on the hit series. The win also brings him closer to achieving mythical EGOT status. Porter previously won best actor at the Tony Awards for his performance in Kinky Boots and earned a best musical theater Grammy for that same show at the Recording Academy's annual fete.

Emmys 2019: Complete Coverage of the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards

Porter's win comes a day after his 50th birthday, and marks a new trajectory for the performer's career. While campaigning for the Emmys, Porter talked at length about being shunned to the margins for most of his working life -- unable to fit into existing archetypes for black men and being silenced or given small parts because of entrenched homophobia. In one interview with TV Guide, he even said that when he was initially cast as the lead on Pose, he couldn't even believe it since he'd become accustomed to roles that sidelined him. But Pose breathed new life into his career and his whole being -- he's now a household name beloved for his epic red carpet moments and an Emmy award winner.

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