Billy Dee Williams Admits to Lifelong Infidelity: 'I've Been Philandering My Whole Life'

At age 86, Billy Dee Williams openly acknowledges that he has never been particularly successful at remaining faithful. This revelation and more comes from the acting legend's new memoir, What Have We Here?: Portraits of a Life. Williams, best known for Batman and the Star Wars movie The Empire Strikes Back, gets very personal in the book, especially when it comes to his love life. At one point he admits, "I've been philandering my whole life."

In a recent interview with PEOPLE, he discussed his many experiences as a man with a soft spot for women. Williams has been a romantic at heart since childhood. "I'm always falling in love," Williams said.

Throughout the book, he shares the details of his modest beginnings, growing up in the Harlem Renaissance in New York City and having difficulty in school but doing well in both art and romance. In the late 1970s, he was cast as a romantic lead opposite Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues as well as Mahogany, resulting in his heartthrob persona taking off.

Following the success of those roles, Williams soon cemented the reputation he had gained as one of Hollywood's earliest Black love interests. "I think I'm the first little brown boy to really come along and project that kind of persona," he says, "Which has been a lot of fun for me."

The legendary actor noted he has never had an easy time committing to one woman in particular. "I'm intrigued with strong women," he told PEOPLE. "Obviously, that always gets me in trouble." In response to a question about describing himself as a husband, the thrice-married actor said, "A philanderer! I've been philandering my whole life."

The Brian's Song and Return of the Jedi actor was married to Audrey Sellers from 1959 to 1963, Marlene Clark from 1968 to 1971, and Teruko Nakagami in 1972, after which he separated from her in 1993 while remaining legally married. The way he talks about the failure of those relationships and the role he played in them is honest and straightforward.

"I think I used to be a good husband, once upon a time. I value family," Williams said. "When my son [Corey, 63, with Sellers] was born, I thought that was the greatest thing in the whole world. And my daughter [Hanako, 50] from my third marriage was a gift." Regarding his ex-wives, "They're all very wonderful people that I've married," he says. "How I got into those situations, I will never know."