The filmmaker opened up to ET about the possibility of getting an EGOT and finding his purpose.
Billy Porter is just one letter away from achieving EGOT status, and with his directorial debut Anything's Possible, he might just make that lofty goal a reality.
The star and filmmaker spoke with ET's Denny Directo at the premiere of his film during the opening night of Outfest Los Angeles at The Orpheum Theatre on Thursday, and he opened up about getting behind the camera and going for Oscars gold.
"Its life changing. It is necessary," Porter said of directing a feature film for the first time. "It is a culmination of me choosing myself, choosing my authenticity decades ago, to be able to find a voice in this world that matters."
"Maya Angelou says we have to love ourselves, so in the loving of ourselves, we teach people how to treat us," he added. "If we don't do it ourselves, nobody else understands how to do it. We have to encourage ourselves, we have to inspire ourselves, we have to know that, inside-out, we're worthy."
As for possibly getting some Oscar love for Anything's Possible -- which he would then add to the Emmys, the Grammy and the Tony he's already earned -- Porter said it's all about believing in your value and making it come true.
"You gotta speak life into yourself," he said. "Manifest it!"
Anything's Possible tells the heartfelt coming-of-age story of a trans high school girl as she deals with the dramas, romances and social nuances of senior year.
For Porter, helming the film was more than a change of course for him, but an effort to make a change in Hollywood when it comes to representation in media.
"I understood midway through my career that if I wanted to fill the void, to fill that gap, that I saw that existed in the lack of representation and the silencing of Black voices and queer voices and voices that were on the margin, I would have to find a way to show I can do it myself," Porter shared. "I was put here for a reason. And this is the reason and this is the purpose. It makes me emotional."
Anything's Possible is available on Amazon Prime Video July 22.
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