Billy Porter to co-write, co-produce, and star in James Baldwin biopic

Los Angeles, California - Billy Porter’s dream role of playing writer James Baldwin has turned into reality.

Billy Porter (l.) is set to star as James Baldwin in an upcoming biopic about the acclaimed author and civil rights activist.
Billy Porter (l.) is set to star as James Baldwin in an upcoming biopic about the acclaimed author and civil rights activist.  © Collage: Cindy Ord / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP & RALPH GATTI / AFP

The Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner has been tapped to co-write, co-produce, and star in an upcoming biopic about the cultural icon for Allen Media Group Motion Pictures.

The film will be based on the 1994 book James Baldwin: A Biography, written by David Leeming. The University of Connecticut emeritus English professor was an assistant and friend of the trailblazing scribe for 25 years.

Porter will team up with frequent collaborator Dan McCabe on the script.

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Baldwin was an openly gay, African-American writer and civil rights activist who died in 1987 at the age of 63.

"As a Black queer man on this planet with relative consciousness, I find myself, like James Baldwin said, 'in a rage all the time,'" Porter said in a statement on Wednesday.

"I am because James was. I stand on James Baldwin’s shoulders, and I intend to expand his legacy for generations to come," the Kinky Boots star added.

Billy Porter pays tribute to James Baldwin

Billy Porter is an Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner who has previously paid public tribute to James Baldwin.
Billy Porter is an Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner who has previously paid public tribute to James Baldwin.  © KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

During his acceptance speech at the 2019 Emmys for outstanding lead actor in a drama series, the Pose star name-checked his idol.

"James Baldwin said, '[It] took many years of vomiting up all the filth that I had been taught about myself and halfway believed before I could walk around this Earth like I had the right to be here,'" Porter said.

"I have the right, you have the right, we all have the right," he added.

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Born in Harlem, Baldwin’s prolific writings included social commentary, essays, novels, plays, and poems about race, sexuality, and the politics of the time.

His best-known works include Go Tell It on the Mountain, The Fire Next Time, and If Beale Street Could Talk, the latter of which was adapted into a Oscar Award-winning 2018 film helmed by Barry Jenkins.

Cover photo: Collage: Cindy Ord / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP & RALPH GATTI / AFP

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