Billy Dee Williams

Acting

Billy Dee Williams

Born 1937-04-06 · New York City, New York, USA

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.

Acting credits

The Lego Movie poster
7.4

An ordinary Lego mini-figure, mistakenly thought to be the extraordinary MasterBuilder, is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil Lego tyrant from conquering the universe.

The Lego Movie

2014

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker poster
6.3

The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once again as the journey of Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron continues. With the power and knowledge of generations behind them, the final battle begins.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

2019

The Empire Strikes Back poster
8.4

The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker, in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader is more determined than ever to capture Luke. Meanwhile, rebel leader Princess Leia, cocky Han Solo, Chewbacca, and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are thrown into various stages of capture, betrayal and despair.

The Empire Strikes Back

1980

The Lego Batman Movie poster
7.3

A cooler-than-ever Bruce Wayne must deal with the usual suspects as they plan to rule Gotham City, while discovering that he has accidentally adopted a teenage orphan who wishes to become his sidekick.

The Lego Batman Movie

2017

Batman poster
7.2

Having witnessed his parents' brutal murder as a child, millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne fights crime in Gotham City disguised as Batman, a costumed hero who strikes fear into the hearts of villains. But when a deformed madman known as 'The Joker' seizes control of Gotham's criminal underworld, Batman must face his most ruthless nemesis ever while protecting both his identity and his love interest, reporter Vicki Vale.

Batman

1989

Return of the Jedi poster
7.9

Luke Skywalker leads a mission to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, the Emperor prepares to crush the Rebellion with a more powerful Death Star, and the Rebel fleet mounts a massive attack on the space station. Luke Skywalker confronts Darth Vader in a final climactic duel before the evil Emperor.

Return of the Jedi

1983

Undercover Brother poster
5.9

An Afro-American organization, the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D., is in permanent fight against a white organization "The Man" defending the values of the black people in North America. When the Afro-American candidate Gen. Warren Boutwell behaves strangely in his presidential campaign, Undercover Brother is hired to work undercover for "The Man" and find what happened with the potential candidate.

Undercover Brother

2002

The Conversation poster
7.5

A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.

The Conversation

1974

Fanboys poster
6.2

In 1999, Star Wars fanatics take a cross-country trip to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch so their dying friend can see a screening of The Phantom Menace before its release.

Fanboys

2009

Nighthawks poster
6.4

When one of Europe's most lethal terrorists shows up in New York, an elite undercover cop is assigned to take him down by any means necessary.

Nighthawks

1981

I Am Not Your Negro poster
7.7

Working from the text of James Baldwin’s unfinished final novel, director Raoul Peck creates a meditation on what it means to be Black in the United States.

I Am Not Your Negro

2017

Dirty Dancing poster
5.5

Spending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances "Baby" Houseman falls in love with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle, and nothing is ever the same for anyone in the Houseman family.

Dirty Dancing

2017

Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror poster
4.8

A hip hop horror anthology of three tales of terror told by the Hound of Hell (Snoop Dogg) that revolve around the residents of an inner-city neighborhood whose actions determine where they will go in the afterlife.

Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror

2006

LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special poster
6.6

As her friends prep for a Life Day holiday celebration, Rey journeys with BB-8 on a quest to gain a deeper knowledge of the Force at a mysterious Jedi Temple. There, she embarks on a cross-timeline adventure through beloved moments in Star Wars history, coming into contact with iconic heroes and villains from all eras of the saga. But will she make it back in time for the Life Day feast?

LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special

2020

Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III poster
7.5

Millions of years from now, after Socrates, Shakespeare and the bible are long forgotten, only two great works will remain: the sci-fi cinema epic Star Wars and Adult Swim's stop-motion animated, cheap gag extravanganza Robot Chicken. And now, for the first time, they come together for the third time, in this all new special. That's right, all your mot beloved Star Wars characters are going back through the comedy meat grinder.

Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III

2010

LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation poster
6.3

Looking for a much-needed break, Finn arranges a surprise vacation for his friends Rey, Poe, Rose, Chewie, BB-8, R2-D2, and C-3PO, aboard the luxurious Halcyon. However, Finn's plan to have one last hurrah together quickly goes awry.

LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation

2022

Quincy poster
7.3

An intimate look into the life of icon Quincy Jones. A unique force in music and popular culture for 70 years, Jones has transcended racial and cultural boundaries; his story is inextricably woven into the fabric of America. Jones came to prominence in the 1950s as a jazz arranger and conductor before working on pop music and film scores. He moved easily between musical genres, producing major pop hits of the early 1960s and serving as an arranger and conductor for several collaborations in the same time period.

Quincy

2018

The Skywalker Legacy poster
7.8

The story lives forever in this feature-length documentary that charts the making of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

The Skywalker Legacy

2020

Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II poster
7.5

Seth Green and Matthew Senreich serve up more hilarious Star Wars-inspired satire in this second compilation of sketches featuring the zany stop-motion animation of Adult Swim's "Robot Chicken." Gary the stormtrooper deals with irascible boss Darth Vader on Take Your Daughter to Work Day, while Anakin babysits a certain up-and-coming Jedi.

Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II

2008

Barry Munday poster
5.7

Barry Munday, a libido-driven wage slave who spends all his time either ogling, fantasizing about, or trying to pick up women, wakes up in hospital after a freak attack only to find that his testicles have been removed.

Barry Munday

2010

Night of 100 Stars II poster
6.8

This special is the second "Night of 100 Stars" to benefit The Actors Fund of America. Edited from a seven-hour live entertainment marathon that was taped February 17, 1985, at New York's Radio City Music Hall, this sequel to the 1982 "Night of 100 Stars" special features 288 celebrities.

Night of 100 Stars II

1985

Driving Me Crazy poster
3.9

An eccentric East German inventor and defector travels to Los Angeles, California to sell a prototype revolutionary new car that runs on vegetables and produces no pollution, but he runs into one madcap situation after another to find a buyer and financier for mass production.

Driving Me Crazy

1991

Stallone: Frank, That Is poster
5.8

An inside look into the fascinating life, career and survival of the most unknown famous entertainer in Hollywood.

Stallone: Frank, That Is

2021

Lady Sings the Blues poster
6.9

Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, beginning with her traumatic youth. The story depicts her early attempts at a singing career and her eventual rise to stardom, as well as her difficult relationship with Louis McKay, her boyfriend and manager. Casting a shadow over even Holiday's brightest moments is the vocalist's severe drug addiction, which threatens to end both her career and her life.

Lady Sings the Blues

1972