Billy Porter, ‘ Pose’ nab prime- time Emmy nominations
It has been a special year for Pittsburgh native Billy Porter, and an Emmy nomination makes it even shinier.
Porter was announced as one of the six candidates for best actor Tuesday morning. He stars as Pray Tell, an HIV- positive man who not only emcees the drag balls on FX’s “Pose” but also advocates for LGBTQ+ rights in the 1990s.
He will be up against Jason Bateman (“Ozark”), Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”), Kit Harington (“Game of Thrones”), Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”) and Milo Ventimiglia (“This Is Us”).
“Pose,” a groundbreaking series in its second season, also was recognized as best drama, alongside “Better Call Saul,” “Bodyguard,” “Game of Thrones,” “Killing Eve,” “Ozark,” “Succession” and “This Is Us.”
“GOT” received a record 32 nominations, including two for lead actors and seven for supporting.
Best comedy series nominees were: “Barry,” “Fleabag,” “The Good Place,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Russian Doll,” “Schitt’s Creek” and “Veep.”
Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara scored surprise leading acting nominations for “Schitt’s Creek.”
The nominations were presented by D’Arcy Carden (“The Good Place”) and Ken Jeong (“The Masked Singer”) in the Television Academy’s Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center.
Other nominees with a local connection include Don Roy King, for directing NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” King, a graduate of Penn State University and Gateway High School, has been nominated for his variety directing 12 times. He’s won eight Emmys; this year’s nomination was for an episode hosted by Adam Sandler.
Carnegie Mellon University alumnus Ted Danson earned a nomination for lead actor in a comedy series for “The Good Place.” Another CMU alumnus, Michael McKean, received a nomination for guest actor in a drama (“Better Call Saul”).
Others in his category are Anthony Anderson (“black- ish”),
“Don Cheadle (“Black Monday”), Michael Douglas (“The Kominsky Method”), Bill Hader (“Barry”) and Levy.
Lead actress nominees for comedy are Christina Applegate (“Dead to Me”), Rachel Brosnahan (“Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), Julia Louis- Dreyfus (“Veep”), Natasha Lyon (“Russion Doll”), O’Hara and Phoebe Waller- Bridge (“Fleabag”).
Louis- Dreyfus has won six Emmys for playing Selena Meyer on “Veep.”
Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”), Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”), Viola Davis (“How to Get Away With Murder”), Laura Linney (“Ozark”), Mandy Moore (“This Is Us”), Sandra Oh (“Killing Eve”) and Robin Wright (“House of Cards”) were recognized as drama lead actress.
Porter is truly on a roll. It was announced recently that he will get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and he was a Golden Globe nominee for “Pose” in January. He has Tony and Grammy awards as the star of “Kinky Boots,” and he has become the must- see celebrity for red carpet fashion.
That firebird outfit at the Met Gala in May? Numerous “What will he wear next?” outfits on red carpets on both coasts?
Like Pray Tell, Porter — who has a degree in drama from Carnegie Mellon University — is an outspoken advocate on LGBTQ+ issues. Last month for Pride events, his outfits included a rainbow- of- gorgeousness gown designed by Christian Siriano, and he headlined London’s Pride lineup.
Late last year in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette, Porter described a power lunch with Ryan Murphy.
He said Murphy told him, “Billy Porter, you are the lead male actor of our show. You are a black, gay, out leading man, and the world needs to see what that looks like.”
The 71st Emmys will be presented live on Fox from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles Sept. 22. Some awards will be announced Sept. 14 and 15 and broadcast in a separate show.