Photo of Billy Dee Williams
Acting

Billy Dee Williams

Profession
Acting
Born
April 6, 1937 · New York City, New York, USA

Biography

William December "Billy Dee" Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor, artist, and singer. He is best known as Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars franchise, first in the early 1980s, and nearly forty years later in The Rise of Skywalker (2019), marking one of the longest intervals between onscreen portrayals of a character by the same actor in American film history. He made his film debut in 1959 in The Last Angry Man starring Paul Muni, in which he portrayed a juvenile delinquent. His first big break was in the acclaimed television movie, Brian's Song in which he played Gale Sayers. In 1972 he played Billie Holliday's husband Louis McKay in Motown Productions' Holiday biopic Lady Sings the Blues. Diana Ross starred in Lady Sings the Blues opposite Williams; Motown paired the two of them again three years later in Mahogany. His work has earned him numerous awards and honors including three NAACP Image Awards, and the NAACP Lifetime Achievement award. He was inducted into the Black Filmmaker's Hall of Fame in 1984, and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1985.

Known for

The Empire Strikes Back poster
The Empire Strikes Back
Film · 1980 · ★ 8.4
Return of the Jedi poster
Return of the Jedi
Film · 1983 · ★ 7.9
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker poster
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Film · 2019 · ★ 6.2
Batman poster
Batman
Film · 1989 · ★ 7.2
The Lego Movie poster
The Lego Movie
Film · 2014 · ★ 7.4
The Lego Batman Movie poster
The Lego Batman Movie
Film · 2017 · ★ 7.3
Lost poster
Lost
Series · 2004 · ★ 8.0
Modern Family poster
Modern Family
Series · 2009 · ★ 7.9
NCIS poster
NCIS
Series · 2003 · ★ 7.6
The Conversation poster
The Conversation
Film · 1974 · ★ 7.5
That '70s Show poster
That '70s Show
Series · 1998 · ★ 7.9
White Collar poster
White Collar
Series · 2009 · ★ 8.2

Filmography