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

Categorized in : You Day People Work

For me, life is about being positive and hopeful, choosing to be joyful, choosing to be encouraging, choosing to be empowering.

Billy Porter

being-positive hopeful empowering

I'm not a person who believes that Broadway is the only place. I think there's lots of work that goes on outside of Broadway and outside of New York that's better than anything Broadway has ever seen. But, it's historically the place. It's one of the centers of the universe, in many ways.

Billy Porter

new-york believe thinking

I had something nobody else could do - I sang in a way that separated me - and, when you're trying to get noticed, you play your trump card.

Billy Porter

play trying cards

How can you be of service to something other than your own ego and bank account, in a business that's inherently narcissistic?

Billy Porter

bank-accounts narcissistic ego

When you're at the beginning of your career, there are a lot of, "I don't care about this," jobs that you take because it's about building your resume and building connections. There are so many factors that don't have anything to do with choosing for the material.

Billy Porter

connections careers jobs

I would love to be able to turn my recording career into something that is substantial, and where I can go and tour with an orchestra.

Billy Porter

orchestra able careers

I want to keep changing the world. It's possible. The black gay lead is ready. It's time.

Billy Porter

black gay world

I've always been passionate about fashion.

Billy Porter

passionate fashion

I am so overjoyed to have lived long enough to see this day.

Billy Porter

top-news

It's a beautiful nod to Elizabethan couture, at the fitting, we spoke about making a pattern on the train that was in the shape of a uterus, but not obvious, of course. And I thought it was awesome because women's rights are under attack right now. I'm an advocate for all who are disenfranchised. None of us are free until we're all free ! I really want to make sure that I'm showing up for all of the disenfranchised people I can so that we can find power in our unity. This government is trying to take away the woman's right to choose and that's unacceptable.

Billy Porter

entertainment

When you're doing what you love, it's not exhausting at all, actually. It's completely empowering and exhilarating.

Billy Porter

doing you what-you-love love

I've worked with a lot of gay and lesbian organizations. I sit on the board of the Empire State Pride Agenda. I've also done a lot of work for Broadway Care/Equity Fights AIDS. I think it's important because, when we can be of service to others, it only enhances our lives. I've been helped a lot in my life.

Billy Porter

my-life service work life

All you need to do is turn on the news, and in five minutes, you're depressed with the state of the world. Choosing joy is a completely active choice. It doesn't just happen. You can't just say, 'I want to be happy.' You have to take action.

Billy Porter

be-happy you happy world

I wouldn't be caught dead in red.

Billy Porter

dead caught red

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

go myself me universe

Just by the nature of making the choice to be true to who I am, I'm political. Sometimes that's all you need to do: Show up and be black, gay and Christian in America and actually say it out loud. And refuse to let anything or anybody take that away from you.

Billy Porter

i-am you black nature

You can't ever put yourself in a position where someone is requiring you to inhabit somebody else's energy. You have to own your thing, or own it with very fiber of your being.

Billy Porter

yourself someone you energy

I do 'sissy with a heart of gold' really well.

Billy Porter

really well gold heart

We need to understand that whatever we do, we're all human beings first.

Billy Porter

whatever human need understand

There's this misconception that I've been turning down roles. It's just not true. The reality is, there was nothing for me to do, nobody was calling, the phone wasn't ringing.

Billy Porter

phone nobody me reality