Billy Porter Gets Back-to-Back Lead Actor Emmy Nominations

Alumni, including Ted Danson, Leslie Odom Jr. James Cromwell and Cherry Jones, receive nods in a dozen categories Carnegie Mellon University alumnus Billy Porter will be defending his historical Emmy win at the 72nd Emmy Awards. In 2019, Porter became the first openly gay black man to win Outstanding lead actor in a drama series for his work as Pray Tell on FX's "Pose." The Tony, Grammy and Emmy award-winning actor graduated in 1991 from CMU's School of Drama. This year, 17 CMU alumni have earned 18 nominations in 12 categories. Josh Gad, a 2003 alumnus of CMU's College of Fine Arts , and Grammy winner, was among the presenters to announce this year's nominations. The ceremony was reimagined as a virtual event this year due to production restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Gad stars in the 2020 Apple TV+ show "Central Park." Among the cast is classmate Leslie Odom Jr.