BILLY DEE WILLIAMS

Billy Dee Williams is well known for his portrayal of the fictional character Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars franchise. Throughout his long career in acting, he has appeared in, more or less, 70 films. Apart from acting, Billy is also known for being a talented voice actor as he has lent his voice in video games and several animated series. What may come as a pleasant surprise to some is that Billy is also a talented painter.

He studied for his degree in the National Academy of Design and was interested in the classical principles of painting.  In the 1980s, Billy took a break from the film industry and decided to focus on his passion for painting. In the next two years, he made about 120 original works of art. One of his most notable artwork is a self-portrait he painted in 1993, and it is displayed in the Smithsonian Institute National Portrait Gallery.