For years I tried to put myself in a box, and it frustrated me, so I had to let go and let the universe take its course. Billy Porter More Quotes by Billy Porter More Quotes From Billy Porter I had to come out to my mother three times over a twelve-year period, but I first came out to her when I was sixteen. It didn't go over so well, because I grew up in the Pentecostal Church. It was a very strict environment. She has since done a lot of work and has really blown my mind. She has learned about my life and has changed her mind. Billy Porter my-life mother work life I was fine being in the closet at the beginning of my career because that's what you were supposed to be - until I realized that it didn't serve anybody, and I was left feeling utterly empty. This is who I am, so I've gotta be me. Billy Porter i-am feeling me you Seeing Jennifer Holliday from 'Dreamgirls' perform on the Tony Awards telecast and later discovering Barbra Streisand by listening to her albums at the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh really changed everything for me. Billy Porter everything me library listening I'm in love with what a high heel does to a leg: how it makes a woman or a man feel. It's empowering. Billy Porter woman feel man love I'm trying to embrace social media because it gives artists a little more power than we've had in the past. Billy Porter social-media media power past If you gauge how you're doing on whether somebody is responding vocally or not, you're up a creek. You can't do that; you kind of have to be inside of your work and play the scene. And tell the story every day. Tell the story. Tell the story. Regardless of how people are responding, I'm going to tell the story. Billy Porter day you work people Just because you're working does not mean you're making money. That's two very different things in show business. Billy Porter just-because you money business I don't in any way disparage any time I've had in the trenches because it really has made me the artist I am today. Billy Porter i-am me time today I always said if I played a drag queen, I'd want to create a template with the realness they talk about in 'Paris Is Burning.' Billy Porter queen always paris want I'm not one of those actors who gets so taken by a role that I can't live my life. I'm the type of actor who goes to work, transforms into a character, takes you on a journey, and then comes back home to be Billy. When I'm in it, I'm in it, but I know how to get out of it. When you can't shut it off, you're a crazy person. I'm not crazy. Billy Porter journey work character life When I had a record deal in the '90s, that was my dream - to make an album like Barbra Streisand's Broadway album - and they laughed me out of the room. Broadway wasn't cool. But artists like Michael Buble and Josh Groban have brought the classic genre back to the forefront, so I'm trying to find my way inside that market. Billy Porter cool me dream way When I was younger, I did what I now call 'extreme singing.' I could do this thing where I would sing really high. I can't really do that anymore, at my age. My voice has shifted. It's changed. Billy Porter high singing voice age
