If you didn’t know who Billy Porter was earlier this year, then you likely are aware of the actor’s presence after he surprisingly won the Best Actor in a Drama Series award at this year’s Emmys. A celebrated Broadway actor/performer, Porter has wowed audiences on the first two seasons of FX’s critically-acclaimed series “Pose.” And now, that success has secured his position in his highest-profile project to date, a new take on “Cinderella.”
READ MORE: Singer Camila Cabello To Star In Sony’s Live-Action ‘Cinderella’ From ‘Blockers’ Director
According to Variety, Porter is in negotiations to take on the Fairy Godmother role in the upcoming Sony film “Cinderella.” The reimagining, which is written and directed by “Blockers” filmmaker Kay Cannon, stars Camila Cabello as the title character and is based on an original idea by James Corden. Sony’s “Cinderella” is said to be a more music-oriented take on the classic tale, which is clearly seen by the casting of Cabello and Porter, who have both excelled as singers and performers.
In addition to his Emmy-winning performance on “Pose,” Porter is probably best known for his role as Lola in Broadway’s “Kinky Boots,” which earned him a Tony and a Grammy. In addition to those projects, he’ll next be seen in the upcoming comedy film “Like a Boss,” which stars Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne.
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As mentioned, this version of “Cinderella” is going to be very different from the classic animated Disney film and the live-action remake that was released by the studio in 2015. The remake was the first in a recent wave of live-action takes on classic Disney films and earned a very respectable $544 million worldwide. However, Sony is banking on the star power of Cabello, who is a massively popular pop singer, as well as the recent trend of popular musical films like “The Greatest Showman” to propel this “Cinderella” even higher.
There’s no release date set for Sony’s “Cinderella.”
