'Magic has no gender': Billy Porter to play 'genderless' Fairy Godmother

“We are presenting this character as genderless - at least that’s how I’m playing it."

Billy Porter

Billy Porter will play the Fairy Godmother in 'Cinderella'. Source: Getty Images, Disney

It looks like Billy Porter - the Emmy, Grammy, and Tony award-winner - could soon be taking a serious swing for his Oscar.

As was announced last year, the fashion icon will be starring in the upcoming adaptation of Cinderella, in which he plays a 'genderless' re-imagining of the Fairy Godmother.

“You know, it hit me when I was on set last week, how profound it is that I am playing the Fairy Godmother - they call it the Fab G,” Porter said in an interview on CBSN, shared to social media.

“Magic has no gender.”
The longtime Kinky Boots actor continued: “We are presenting this character as genderless - at least that’s how I’m playing it.

"And it’s really powerful.”


Porter described the film as "a classic fairy tale for a new generation.

“You know, this is a classic," he said. “I think that the new generation is really ready. You know the kids are ready, it’s the grownups that are slowing stuff down.”

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By Samuel Leighton-Dore


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'Magic has no gender': Billy Porter to play 'genderless' Fairy Godmother | SBS Voices