Billy Porter says he’s struggled to be taken seriously over the years and tells his critics he’s not a clown because he wears dresses on the red carpet.

The Emmy-winning actor – whose films include Cinderella, The Intern and Like A Boss – tells Sky News it took him around 25 years to be treated like a professional artist.

“I’m a very serious person, and the conversation I have with people is that ‘great’ and ‘serious’ coexist,” he says himself.

His latest movie is ‘Our Son’alongside the Welsh actor, Luke Evansa heartwarming drama that tells the story of a same-sex couple navigating the difficulties of co-parenting through a divorce.

The actor says he hopes the film will help change some perceptions about him and the nature of same-sex relationships. “The fact that the film is about people – not straight, not gay – but about the breakdown of a human marriage, was very important to me.

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Because as a 54-year-old black, gay man – whatever you want to call it – who has been in the workforce for over 30 years, I’ve been following “coming out stories” for many years. I’m tired of them. We have this story. Now let’s talk about what happens after coming out».

The actor believes that the world has come a long way in terms of how same-sex relationships are treated and played out on screen. He says we need to “honor” that, before we complain about where we’re not.

Porter was the first openly gay man to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for his role in “Pose” in 2019.

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