Out actor Billy Porter talked with
Deadline about his second Emmy nomination for playing Pray
Tell on FX's Pose.
Porter, who won in the category last
year, said that he's not in show business for the trophies.
“First and foremost let me say, I'm
an artist first,” Porter said while speaking at a virtual panel for
Deadline's Contender's Television: The Nominees. “I don't do
this because I want to win awards … awards are amazing … they are
so much fun. You hold space for both.”
“As a Black gay man whose queerness
was considered my liability for the first 25 years-plus of my career,
it's been breathtaking to watch that flip – to watch what was
considered my liability for so long become the thing that everyone is
responding to.”
Porter added that unlike his white
counterparts, winning an Emmy change his life.
“My white counterparts work all the
time whether they win awards or not,” Porter
said. “My life actually does change. My life did change from
winning an award.”
“I work very hard to make it about my
work – it's always about the work first. The icing on the cake is
when people receive it like this … I'm very honored,” he said.