A new “Cinderella” remake is set to premiere in 2021 and will feature Billy Porter as Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother.
He is perhaps the first man to hold the role in a mainstream adaptation of the tale, and he calls it “a classic fairytale for a new generation.”
But, Porter says he will portray the Godmother as ‘genderless’.
“It hit me when I was on the set last week, how profound it is that I am playing the Fairy Godmother — they call it the Fab G,” Porter told CBS News on Monday. “Magic has no gender.”
Based on an idea by James Corden, who will costar as a footman, Cinderella will feature a star-studded cast including Camila Cabello as Cinderella, Idina Menzel as Cinderella’s stepmother, Pierce Brosnan as the King, Missy Elliott as the Town Crier, and Billy Porter as Cinderella’s supportive fairy godmother Cinderella’s who helps her get ready for the ball.
The famous fashion trendsetter told CBS News:
“We are presenting this character as genderless at least that’s how I’m playing it. And it’s really powerful.”
“I think the new generation is really ready. The kids are ready. It’s the grownups that are slowing stuff down,” he said
Last year, Porter became the first openly gay black male to win an Emmy for a leading role. It’s not something he necessarily set out to do, but he understands the significance.
“I’m an artist. When you’re inside of something, as an artist, the outside stuff … has to fall away. Because if you think about it too much, it’s really heady,” said Porter, who won for his role as Pray Tell on “Pose.”
The greatest part of that historic Emmy win, for Porter, was the ‘representation’, he said.
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