Billy Porter Will Make Feature Directorial Debut on WHAT IF?

Tony winner Billy Porter is set to make his feature directorial debut on "What If?", a coming-of-age story described as a mix between "Booksmart" and "Love, Simon!"

The film follows high school senior KHAL who posts on r/relationships about his crush on Kelsa, a trans girl at his school, according to Deadline. The internet encourages him to go for it and the two navigate a high school senior year relationship that neither could have expected.

Billy Porter said, "I'm thrilled to be part of this new space in Hollywood for telling all types of stories from all types of people. I am grateful to be in a position to usher some of these stories into the mainstream and I am humbled that heavy hitters like Christine Vachon and Alana Mayo have entrusted and empowered me in this insane time we all find ourselves in."

Alana Mayo, President of Orion Pictures said, "We couldn't be more excited to work with Billy Porter on his feature directing debut and are privileged that he, Alvaro, and the producing team behind this special film have entrusted us with their vision for this beautiful, contemporary love story. What If? is perfectly emblematic of the ambitions we have for the new Orion Pictures: to tell stories about the totality of the human experience."

Billy Porter is a Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award-winning, and Golden Globe-nominated, actor, singer, director, composer, and playwright from Pittsburgh, PA.

His electric portrayal of Pray Tell in FX's breakthrough series "Pose," earned him an Emmy Award, among other accolades. On screen, Porter recently appeared on "American Horror Story: Apocalypse" and Baz Luhrman's "The Get Down" on Netflix. Under the direction of Barry Levinson, Porter starred in The Humbling, alongside Al Pacino and Greta Gerwig. His other film credits include Noel, The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy, Intern, Anastasia, and Twisted.

A veteran of the theatre, Porter recently reprised his role as Lola in the smash hit Broadway musical Kinky Boots, for which he won the 2013 Drama Desk and TONY AWARDS for Best Actor in a Musical. His other Broadway acting credits include the Tony nominated Broadway musical, Shuffle Along, directed by George C. Wolfe, Miss Saigon, Five Guys Named Moe, Grease, Smokey Joe's Cafe, and Dreamgirls (20th anniversary Broadway concert and LA Ovation Award).