Billy Porter Will Play the Fairy Godmother in Latest Live-Action Cinderella Movie: 'I'm Ready'
Billy Porter is ready to “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” his way onto the big screen!
The Emmy-winning Pose actor, 50, confirmed on Saturday during a panel at the 20th New Yorker Festival that he will play the Fairy Godmother in Sony’s upcoming live-action Cinderella movie.
PEOPLE confirmed in April that Camila Cabello would play the titular princess in the re-imagining of the classic story, helmed by Blockers director and Pitch Perfect writer Kay Cannon and based on an idea from James Corden.
Deadline reported on Friday that Broadway veteran (and the voice of Frozen‘s Queen Elsa) Idina Menzel was in talks to join the cast as well, playing Evelyn, the evil stepmother.
Though plot details haven’t been released, the story is reportedly a modern re-imagining of the classic fairytale in which an orphaned girl becomes a princess. Cabello’s Cuban and Mexican roots will likely play a part in the modern aspect of the story, and The Hollywood Reporter said she will also be involved with the film’s music.
RELATED: Billy Porter on How Pose Turned Around His Career as an “Out, Black, Gay Actor”
Porter — who originated (and won a Tony for) the role of Lola in Kinky Boots on Broadway — recently made history when he became the first openly gay black man to be nominated for and win best actor in a drama at the 2019 Emmy Awards, for his portrayal of Pray Tell in FX’s Pose.
And what’s next for the actor and singer, aside from his Fairy Godmother role? “I have a movie with Tiffany Haddish, Rose Byrne and Salma Hayek, Like a Boss,” he shared during the panel on Saturday, when he revealed his Cinderella news. “I have a new album coming out next year. I am directing an episode of Pose.”
“There’s a play that I directed that just debuted in Boston that’s coming to New York,” Porter continued. “I’m a gypsy — the only thing I know how to do is work. I’m ready. I’m ready for all of it.”
In Pose, Porter’s character Pray Tell is the outspoken, outrageous emcee of the New York City house balls the 1980s-set show centers on. The series features the largest cast of transgender actors and LGBTQ actors in television history.
In the press room after his Emmy win last month, Porter told reporters that representation in media has “the power to create empathy.”
“I feel like physical representation are the only things that create change. It’s when we are available, that we have the power to create empathy. Through the way we tell stories,” he said. “I think being black, I know that being black and gay and out, and being in this position.”
The actor added that he hopes “young queer people of all colors can look at me and know that they can.”
