Writer and civil rights advocate James Baldwin is the latest cultural icon getting his own biopic with Billy Porter in the lead role. The Emmy-winning actor will realize his lifelong dream of portraying Baldwin in the biopic he co-wrote alongside Dan McCabe.
The upcoming biopic will be based on the 1994 book James Baldwin: A Biography by David Leeming, Baldwin’s former assistant and friend for 25 years. Baldwin often explored the theme of Black identity in America through his iconic novels, such as Go Tell It on the Mountain, Notes of a Native Son, Giovanni’s Room, and If Beale Street Could Talk.
In an official statement announcing his involvement in this project, Porter reflected on Baldwin’s legacy and the way it impacted him as a person and an artist.
“As a Black queer man on this planet with relative consciousness I find myself, like James Baldwin said, ‘in a rage all the time.’ I am because James was. I stand on James Baldwin’s shoulders, and I intend to expand his legacy for generations to come,” said Porter.
Porter will co-write the project for Byron Allen‘s Allen Media Group Motion Pictures alongside his frequent collaborator Dan McCabe. He’s an acclaimed theatre actor, who got his big break in Hollywood with the role in the FX series Pose and went on to star in such films as Like a Boss, Cinderella, and 80 for Brady.
