Star Wars actor Billy Dee Williams comes out as gender fluid

‘I never tried to be anything except myself’

Sunday 01 December 2019 14:09

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Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker special look

Actor Billy Dee Williams, best known for playing Lando Calrissian in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, has come out as gender fluid.

Ahead of his return to the franchise for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the star has revealed that he uses both he/him and she/her pronouns.

“I never tried to be anything except myself,” Williams told Esquire.

The 82-year-old actor said: “I think of myself as a relatively colourful character who doesn’t take himself or herself too seriously.”

Williams later elaborated on his pronouns, explaining: “I say ‘himself’ and ‘herself,’ because I also see myself as feminine as well as masculine.

24 pieces of life advice from celebrities

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1/2424 pieces of life advice from celebrities

“The thing you fear most has no power. Your fear of it is what has the power. Facing the truth really will set you free.”

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“No matter what you're going through, there's a light at the end of the tunnel and it may seem hard to get to it but you can do it and just keep working towards it and you'll find the positive side of things.”

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“It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.”

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“Doing something that is productive is a great way to alleviate emotional stress. Get your mind doing something that is productive.”

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“Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.”

"I am certainly no self-help guru but here is what I know tonight: when you take the time and space you need, kindly and responsibly, you're suddenly available to the people you love in a whole new way."

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“If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress.”

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“One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don’t invest any energy in them, because I know who I am.”

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"I love you. You are beautiful and you can do anything."

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"The only thing wrong with me was that I thought there was something wrong with me."

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“You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.”

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“It is the useless things that make life worth living and that make life dangerous too: wine, love, art, beauty. Without them life is safe, but not worth bothering with.”

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“Be able to delegate, because there are some things that you just can’t do by yourself.”

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“Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”

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"And once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”

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“You Are Never Too Old To Set Another Goal Or To Dream A New Dream.”

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“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'.”

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“Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong.”

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“For me, life is about being positive and hopeful, choosing to be joyful, choosing to be encouraging, choosing to be empowering.”

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“It's your outlook on life that counts. If you take yourself lightly and don't take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find the humor in our everyday lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver.”

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"Life is very interesting… in the end, some of your greatest pains, become your greatest strengths.”

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“It’s never too late – never too late to start over, never too late to be happy.”

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“There are no regrets in life. Just lessons.”

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"The reality is: sometimes you lose. And you’re never too good to lose. You’re never too big to lose. You’re never too smart to lose. It happens"

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“I’m a very soft person. I’m not afraid to show that side of myself.”

The character of Calrissian has long been theorised by Star Wars fans to be pansexual – a theory that was confirmed first by Solo co-writer Jonathan Kasdan in 2018 and again later by Donald Glover, who played the younger Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story.

“How can you not be pansexual in space?” Glover told SiriusXM. “There are so many things to have sex with.

”I didn’t think that was that weird. Yeah, he’s coming on to everybody. I feel like if you’re in space it’s kind of like, the door is open! It’s like, [not] only guys or girls – no, it’s anything.

“This thing is literally a blob. Are you a man or a woman? Like, who cares? Have a good time out here.”

When Glover’s comments were pointed out to Williams in the interview, the actor added: “Really? That kid is brilliant - just look at those videos,” referring to Childish Gambino‘s “This Is America” music video.

In the interview, Williams also revealed that his proudest acting achievement is his Emmy-nominated performance as Gale Sayers in the 1971 TV movie Brian’s Song.

He 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.”

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