Emmy-winning actor Wayne Brady reveals how Billy Porter gave him a ‘beautiful pep talk’ before his Broadway hit Kinky Boots

Actor and comedian Wayne Brady, widely known for hosting the immensely popular Emmy-winning television game show Let's Make A Deal, has recently opened up and discussed the time when actor Billy Porter motivated and convinced him to play his role of Lola, the drag queen, in the musical Kinky Boots.

The musical is a six-time Tony Award-winning Broadway hit. Brady shared the 'beautiful pep talk' that his friend Porter gave him when he was facing a rough patch in his life.

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The Everybody Hates Chris alum, Brady, recently appeared on Monét X Change's podcast Monét Talks, where he shared Billy Porter's pep talk that encouraged him to be a part of the Broadway hit Kinky Boots. Wayne Brady said:

"We were sitting backstage, and I'll never forget Billy Porter for saying this — so thank you, Billy, if you ever see this. This was when I was not at a very good place in my life. I was feeling very trapped. I felt trapped by — and this is gonna sound so first-world, so I don't want to see this taken out of context by somebody that posts it on Shade Room or some sh*t — [but] I was trapped by the success of certain things."

Wayne took the opportunity to clarify that at the time, he was mostly known as the host of the CBS show Let's Make a Deal, which, according to him, in a way restricted him from taking up other projects. Brady went ahead and continued:

"People just see me as this thing now, and people talk about Whose Line (Is It Anyway?) all the time. I've got all these other things that I do, blah, blah, blah, I'm trapped, I can't do these other projects.' I just lost my voice because of Let's Make a Deal… I was really dark. I was in a very dark, dark place."

Wayne Brady rose to fame in 1998 after gaining major recognition for starring on Whose Line Is It Anyway?, a British improvisational comedy show that aired on Channel 4 from 1988 to 1999. Due to the show's immense success, it was eventually picked up by ABC network, with the 53-year-old continuing to star as one of the regular improvisers.

Brady, the father of two, who was previously married to Mandie Taketa, shares a daughter, Maile, with her. He also has a son, Val, whom he shares with his former girlfriend Tina.

Wayne Brady shares Billy Porter's pep talk

To improve his emotional state, Wayne Brady went out and watched the musical Kinky Boots, a production he had earlier auditioned for. Then he met Billy Porter. Wayne recalled the time by saying:

"I'm sitting backstage talking to Billy, and he's like, 'You know, they're looking for somebody (to replace me), and I think you should do it.' I Eeyore'd him. I was like, 'No, man, I mean, would love to — the role is amazing — but I can't do this. Nobody's gonna accept me doing it. I'm just the game show guy. Now I made myself the game show guy — I used to be the Whose Line guy, then I was on sitcoms, and I can't even have the dreams that I want because blah, blah, blah, blah, pity, pity me.'"

While Porter was not paying attention to his complaints, Wayne said:

"He's like, 'Wayne Brady, shut up… I'm telling you, [you] need to do [this]'. Billy just basically gave me this beautiful pep talk. I was in tears. I said, 'You know what? Let me see.'"

Brady eventually spoke to his agent regarding the matter, who checked if there was any casting opportunity for Wayne. Interestingly, he got a call. Wayne said:

"Fast-forward, they ask me to come out, and they didn't have me audition, but they had me lightly sing. They were like, 'Hey, this isn't an audition, but what if you came into a room with a piano and met the creatives and sang these songs?'"

Wayne Brady successfully replaced Billy Porter for the role of Lola in 2015.

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