Dyllón Burnside

{{Short description|American actor and singer}} {{Use American English |date=November 2018 }} {{Use mdy dates |date=November 2018 }} {{Infobox person | name = Dyllón Burnside | alias = | birth_name = Dyllón Burnside | birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1989|1|27}} | birth_place = [[Miami, Florida]], U.S. | alma_mater = | occupation = Actor, singer | years_active = 2014–present }}

'''Dyllón Burnside''' (born January 27, 1989) is an American actor and singer. He is known for his role as Ricky Evangelista in the [[FX (TV channel)|FX]] [[Television show|television series]] ''[[Pose (TV series)|Pose]]''.<ref name="PopSugar 2018-07-21">{{Cite news |url=https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Dyllon-Burnside-Pose-Interview-July-2018-45072682 |title=''Pose'' Is Actually Changing People's Lives, and Dyllón Burnside Has Proof |last=Roschke |first=Ryan |work=[[PopSugar]] |date=July 21, 2018 |access-date=August 26, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="Chill 2018-06-07">{{Cite news |url=https://www.chill.us/entertainment/2018/6/07/dyllon-burnside-pumping-volume |title=Dyllón Burnside Is Pumping Up the Volume |work=Chill |publisher=[[Here Media]] |date=June 7, 2018 |access-date=August 26, 2018 }}</ref>

== Career == Burnside got his first start at age 12 when he performed as the lead singer of [[hip-hop]]/[[R&B]] [[boy band]] “3D” with 2 of his cousins and managed by his mother, touring with the likes of [[Stevie Wonder]] and [[Rihanna]], with a distribution deal with [[Atlantic Records]] and performing in venues including [[Madison Square Garden]] and the [[Nokia Theater (New York)|Nokia Theater]].<ref name="FX biog">{{cite web |url=https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/pose/cast-crew/dyllon-burnside-ricky |title=Dyllón Burnside as Ricky in ''Pose'' on FX |publisher=[[FX (TV channel)|FX Networks]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816230554/https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/pose/cast-crew/dyllon-burnside-ricky |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 16, 2018 |access-date=November 19, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="Crush 2018-07-20">{{cite news |url=http://crushfanzine.com/dyllon-burnside-a-study-of-a-crush-part-1-by-christopher-leo-daniels/ |title=Dyllón Burnside, A Study of a Crush, Part I |first=Christopher Leo |last=Daniels |work=Crush Fanzine |date=July 20, 2018 |access-date=November 19, 2018 }}</ref> After 10 years, he began feeling constricted by fronting a boy band and wanted to explore arts less traditionally masculine: "The things that I was interested in didn’t necessarily align with my family’s or society’s idea of what it meant to be a man. ... I can still be a male and sing Mozart or take a ballet class and that it not have anything to do with anything other than I wanted to take a ballet class."<ref name="Crush 2018-07-20"/> As a result, he enrolled at the [[Collaborative Arts Project 21 (CAP21)|CAP21]] [[music school|conservatory]] to take a vocal major, moved to [[New York City]] and took acting and dance classes<ref name="FX biog"/><ref name="Crush 2018-07-20"/> including studying for a [[bachelor's degree]] in [[media studies]] and writing from [[The New School]].<ref name="FX biog"/>

While at CAP21, Burnside starred in the [[Tupac]]-inspired musical ''[[Holler If Ya Hear Me (musical)|Holler if Ya Hear Me]]'' on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 2014, where he played Anthony.<ref name="IBDB">{{cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/dylln-burnside-531626|title=Dyllón Burnside|website=Internet Broadway Database|accessdate=26 October 2021}}</ref><ref name="FX biog"/><ref name="them. 2018-07-20">{{Cite news |url=https://www.them.us/story/pose-black-gay-love |title=All Hail the Beautiful, Black Gay Love on ''Pose'' |last=Reign |first=Eva |work=them. |publisher=[[Condé Nast]] |date=July 20, 2018 |access-date=August 26, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="Time Out 2018-07-17">{{Cite news |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/music/dyllon-burnside-up-close-and-personal |title=Dyllón Burnside: Up Close and Personal |first=Adam |last=Feldman |work=[[Time Out New York]] |date=July 17, 2018 |access-date=August 26, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="amNY">{{Cite news |url=https://www.amny.com/entertainment/pose-ball-scenes-1.19965664 |title=''Pose'' ball scenes a high-energy 'sensory overload' |work=am New York |access-date=August 26, 2018 }}{{link note |note=Link not available in the European Union}}</ref> While studying, Burnside was also a part of NBC's ''[[Peter Pan Live!]]'',<ref name="FX biog"/><ref name="Playbill 2018-07-14">{{Cite web |url=http://www.playbill.com/article/fxs-pose-stars-dyllon-burnside-mj-rodriguez-and-ryan-jamaal-swain-will-perform-nyc-concert |title=FX's ''Pose'' Stars, Dyllón Burnside, Mj Rodriguez, and Ryan Jamaal Swain, Will Perform NYC Concert |first=Adam |last=Hetrick |website=[[Playbill]] |date=July 14, 2018 |access-date=August 26, 2018 }}</ref> [[HBO]]'s ''[[High Maintenance]]''<ref name="FX biog"/> and performed in [[BeBe Winans]]'s musical ''Born For This'' in both [[Atlanta]] and [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="Crush 2018-07-20"/>

Burnside has also worked as a [[film producer]] on the award-winning [[short film|short]] ''The Jump'' and as [[theatrical producer]] on ''Hold Up The Light'' at the non-profit [[Arena Stage]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="FX biog"/> He has also taught [[performing arts]] workshops and has spoken at schools about how studying performing arts can be empowering and help young people find their means of self-expression.<ref name="FX biog"/>

Burnside [[master of ceremonies|emceed]] a benefit concert, duetting with ''Pose'' co-stars [[Billy Porter (entertainer)|Billy Porter]] and [[Ryan Jamaal Swain]] to celebrate the ''Pose'' season 1 finale on July 23, 2018, raising money for [[GLSEN]],<ref name="Time Out 2018-07-17"/><ref name="Playbill 2018-07-14"/><ref name="Crush 2018-07-20"/><ref name="Boy Culture 2018-07-24">{{cite web |url=https://www.boyculture.com/boy_culture/2018/07/monday-night-at-the-cutting-room-was-the-highly-anticipated-concert-to-benefit-glsen-staged-by-my-pal-wayne-laako-and-featuri.html |title=To Be Real: The Cast Of ''Pose'' Gives Back — Already! — At NYC GLSEN Benefit |work=Boy Culture |date=July 24, 2018 |access-date=November 19, 2018 }}</ref> and talking about his [[coming out]] story and speaking with former ''[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]'' [[editor-in-chief]] [[Emil Wilbekin]] about the importance of [[safe space]]s for LGBTQ people.<ref name="Boy Culture 2018-07-24"/>

In July 2021, in the same period the final episode of ''Pose'' was aired, it was released the musical single ''[[Heaven (Dyllón Burnside)|Heaven]]'' featuring the British singer [[Daley (singer)|Daley]], written in February 2021 as a celebration of LGBTQ love.<ref name="WWD">{{cite web|url=https://wwd.com/eye/people/dyllon-burnside-pose-finale-heaven-music-single-broadway1234840964-1234840964/|title=Dyllón Burnside Was Caught Off Guard by the 'Pose' Finale|author=Kristen Tauer|date=11 June 2021|accessdate=26 October 2021|website=WWD}}</ref> In the same month Burnside was featured in the fourth episode of the anthology TV series ''[[American Horror Stories]]'' by Murphy&Falchuk.<ref name="WWD" /> In Fall 2021 he came back on Broadway stage as one of the seven Afroamerican leads of the show ''Thoughts of a Colored Man''.<ref name="WWD" /><ref name="IBDB" />

In 2025, Burnside portrayed celebrity stylist Dwen Curry in the [[BET+]] Original Film "[[Fighting to Be Me: The Dwen Curry Story]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-13 |title=Paramount Press Express {{!}} FIGHTING TO BE ME: THE DWEN CURRY STORY - FACT SHEET |url=https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/bet-plus/releases/?view=110995-fighting-to-be-me-the-dwen-curry-story-fact-sheet |access-date=2026-04-27 |website=www.paramountpressexpress.com |language=en}}</ref>

== Personal life == Burnside grew up on a ranch in [[Pensacola, Florida]].<ref name="FX biog"/> His family raised farm animals including: chickens, cows, horses and pigs.

Burnside has spoken about [[toxic masculinity]]: "All of the work that I seek to do and the work I want to do is about pushing the boundaries or blurring the lines of what it means to be a man. I think manhood as a construct is very dangerous and has caused a lot of pain and destruction in our world"<ref name="Crush 2018-07-20"/> and recognises the importance of ''Pose'' for representing LGBTQ people of color.<ref name="them. 2018-07-20"/><ref name="PopSugar 2018-07-21 with quote">{{Cite news |url=https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Dyllon-Burnside-Pose-Interview-July-2018-45072682 |title=''Pose'' Is Actually Changing People's Lives, and Dyllón Burnside Has Proof |last=Roschke |first=Ryan |work=[[PopSugar]] |date=July 21, 2018 |access-date=August 26, 2018 |quote=We've seen the painful kind of love. We've seen the [[coming out#Closeted|closet]] cases and the [[Down-low (sexual slang)|DL]] brothers. And we've seen interracial couples. But we haven't seen two black queer boys trying to figure out what it means to be attracted to each other and to have intimate feelings for each other, and to kind of figure out what to do with those things. }}</ref> For [[National Coming Out Day]] 2019, he wrote about the importance of acceptance and representation, "which is why I stand so firmly in my truth and speak openly about my experience".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/B3fcSGXBxWE/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/dyllonburnside/2152563535988069764 |archive-date=December 26, 2021 |url-access=registration|title=I encourage every one of you to live your most full, authentic and fulfilling life. ... |last=Burnside |first=Dyllón |date=October 11, 2019 |access-date=October 20, 2019 |via=[[Instagram]] |quote=I encourage every one of you to live your most full, authentic and fulfilling life. I believe coming out is a truly personal and individual journey. I look forward to the day when no child or adult feels the pressure of having to explain their identity and existence for the comfort of the masses. That being said, I also recognize the need for visibility and representation, which is why I stand so firmly in my truth and speak openly about my experience. Grateful for this day and what it represents but will be even more grateful when it’s no longer necessary. }}{{cbignore}}</ref> He has described influences including [[bell hooks]], [[James Baldwin]], [[Eckhart Tolle]] and [[Marianne Williamson]],<ref name="Crush 2018-07-20"/> as well as [[gospel music]] being a part of going to church that spoke to him.<ref name="Crush 2018-07-20"/>

In an interview for ''[[Men's Health]]'' magazine in September 2020, Burnside described his identity as "[[queer]], not gay", describing that he has had "relationships — romantic and sexual — with women as well as men", adding that "for me, queerness is about understanding that I exist outside of the sexual binary of just gay or straight".<ref name="Men's Health 2020-09-17">{{cite news |url=https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a34054822/dyllon-burnside-pose-interview/ |title=Dyllón Burnside on Being Queer: 'I Exist Outside of the Sexual Binary of Just Gay or Straight' |first=Adrianna |last=Freedman |work=[[Men's Health]] |date=September 17, 2020 |access-date=September 21, 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite episode |url=https://www.instagram.com/tv/CFAbNMDnzgO/ |title=Queer Black and Brilliant: Dyllón Burnside and the art of Self |series=[[Men's Health]] Friday Sessions |via=[[Instagram]] |date=September 11, 2020 |access-date=September 21, 2020 |quote=I just want to assert that I identify as queer, not gay. Some might think it's semantics but for me it's important. ... My experience of my sexuality has been one that is a bit more fluid and a bit more complex than just identifying as gay. I've dated women and have had many relationships — romantic and sexual — with women as well as men. But I don't identify as bisexual. And I think that, the more that we understand sexuality as something that exists on a spectrum and is not so black-and-white, the more we can better understand humanity as a whole. And so, for me, the term ''queer'' just opens up space. It opens up space in our language and language is a technology, a technology by which we come to understand the world. And so I think, for me, queerness is about understanding that I exist outside of the sexual binary of just gay or straight. }}</ref>

==Filmography== ===Film=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | 2016 | ''Misunderstood'' | Sin | Short film |- | 2017 | ''Central Park'' | Christian | |- | 2018 | ''Yinz'' | Shane Tompkins | |- | 2023 | ''[[Wild Goat Surf]]'' | Jason | |- |2025 |''[[Fighting to Be Me: The Dwen Curry Story]]'' |Dwen Curry | |}

===Television=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | 2014 | ''[[High Maintenance (TV series)|High Maintenance]]'' | Lionel | Episode: "Genghis" |- | 2014 | ''[[Peter Pan Live!]]'' | Prickles | Television movie |- | 2018–21 | ''[[Pose (TV series)|Pose]]'' | Ricky | 18 episodes |- | rowspan="2"|2021–24 | rowspan="2"|''[[American Horror Stories]]'' | James | Episode: "The Naughty List" |- | Malcolm | Episode: "X" |- | 2022 | ''[[Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story]]'' | Ronald Flowers | 2 episodes |- |}

== Theatre == {| class="wikitable" |+ !Year !Title !Role !Ref. |- |2023 |''BLACK SUPERHERO'' |King |<ref>{{Cite web |title=BLACK SUPERHERO |url=https://royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/black-superhero/ |access-date=2023-04-06 |website=Royal Court |language=en-US}}</ref> |}

== Discography == {{Empty section|date=October 2021}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * {{IMDb name}} * {{IBDB name}} * {{Facebook}} * {{Twitter}} * {{Instagram}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnside, Dyllón}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American male television actors]] [[Category:American male stage actors]] [[Category:21st-century African-American male actors]] [[Category:21st-century American male actors]] [[Category:Musicians from Pensacola, Florida]] [[Category:American theatre managers and producers]] [[Category:Film producers from Florida]] [[Category:African-American LGBTQ people]] [[Category:LGBTQ people from Florida]] [[Category:The New School alumni]] [[Category:21st-century American male singers]] [[Category:21st-century American singers]] [[Category:1989 births]] [[Category:American queer male actors]] [[Category:American queer musicians]] [[Category:20th-century African-American male singers]] [[Category:20th-century American male singers]] [[Category:20th-century American singers]] [[Category:21st-century African-American male singers]] [[Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people]] [[Category:Male actors from Miami]] [[Category:Male actors from Pensacola, Florida]]