Billy Dee Williams

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

as Lando Calrissian

Return of the Jedi

as Lando Calrissian

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

as Lando Calrissian

Batman

as Harvey Dent

The Lego Movie

as Lando (voice)

The Lego Batman Movie

as Two-Face (voice)

Lost

as Billy Dee Williams

Modern Family

as Himself

NCIS

as Leroy Jethro Moore

The Conversation

as Man in Yellow Hat (uncredited)