'Star Wars' icon Billy Dee Williams comes out as gender fluid: 'I see myself as feminine and masculine'
Star Wars' icon, Billy Dee Williams, known for his role as Lando Calrissian in the series, has reportedly come out as gender fluid. The 82-year-old actor, in an interview with Esquire, revealed that he uses both pronouns "himself" and "herself" and said he "was not afraid to show that side" of him to the world.
Williams, while talking to Matt Miller, also opened up about how comfortable he is to talk about gender fluidity. "You see I say 'himself' and 'herself,' because I also see myself as feminine as well as masculine," he revealed. "I’m a very soft person. I’m not afraid to show that side of myself."
Miller then mentioned a SiriusXM interview Donald Glover gave about playing a younger version of Lando Calrissian, where he described the character as pansexual. Williams responded to the note, saying: "Really? That kid is brilliant — just look at those videos," he said while referring to Childish Gambino's 'This Is America' music video.
Although Williams is popularly remembered for his role in the original Star Wars trilogy, he said the role he is most proud of is from the 1971 TV movie 'Brian's Song'. The film, which also stars James Caan, was nominated for an Emmy. The movie was about real-life Chicago Bears player Brian Piccolo, who befriended his African-American teammate Gayle Sayers. The two formed an enduring friendship and became the first interracial roommates in the National Football League (NFL). Piccolo, however, was diagnosed with cancer in 1969 and succumbed to the disease the next year.
Williams, while talking about the film, said: "It was a love story, really. Between two guys. Without sex. It ended up being a kind of breakthrough in terms of racial division."
The actor also talked about his 'Star Wars' character, saying he presented something on the screen which people in America had not seen before. "What I presented on that screen people didn’t expect to see. And I deliberately presented something that nobody had experienced before: a romantic brown-skinned boy," he said.
