Until Abbott Elementary, Tyler James Williams was perhaps most recognizable as the kid from Everybody Hates Chris. He played the titular Chris Rock character and who knew that the title would end up being so apt 17 years later. Anyway, Tyler (James? I am not sure whether it’s part of his first name or a middle name) managed to transition child star success into adulthood by hiring an acting coach and being very discerning about his roles after his sitcom stint. Turns out that was partially driven by a rude comment a producer made to him on the Everybody Hates Chris set.
Of all the sets he’s been on, Williams says the learning curve on Everybody Hates Chris was the steepest. “I learned how to carry a show in a matter of two or three months,” he says. “It’s the most useful information I’ve ever gotten in my life.”
“The time this was happening was the same time the internet was becoming more ingrained in the industry,” Williams says. “So as I’m going through the most awkward years of my life, everyone sees it. I think my voice was cracking nonstop during seasons two and three. I was trying to find myself in front of everybody. And everybody had an opinion and was getting used to getting theirs out.”
Williams says he’s been in therapy for years as a result. “I could hear my name being brought up from two, three tables down. I could see how many people clocked me when I walked in the door. And that’s not healthy.” He’s recently managed to establish firmer boundaries and slow the pace of his life.
Williams also had to deal with the possibility that his career might be stunted or even ended by his early success. Hollywood can burn young actors out before they’re old enough to vote. If they aren’t discarded once they reach young adulthood, many get stuck in juvenile purgatory, playing teenagers. He remembers the time an Everybody Hates Chris producer told him, “I’ll never see you as anything else and you’ll probably never work again.” “I was like, ‘Holy shit, you really just looked at me and said that,’” Williams recalls. He notes that the comment was probably a joke, but he internalized it nonetheless.
When Everybody Hates Chris ended, Williams course-corrected. “I realized at 17 that I didn’t like the road I was on,” he says. “So I decided to stop and pivot. I got with a really good acting coach and I turned down every single thing I was offered.” Over the next 10-plus years, he eventually accepted a major part in Dear White People, meaty stints on shows like The Walking Dead and Criminal Minds, and a role in The United States vs. Billie Holiday.
[From GQ via Lainey Gossip]
“I’ll never see you as anything else and you’ll probably never work again.” Um, that’s a pretty rude thing to say and Tyler (James) is giving a lot of grace to that nameless producer, because I don’t think it was a joke! Of course he internalized it. I’m sure the producer laughed it off, but meant it. Child actors can be really pigeonholed into approximations of their early roles, and even more so with Black actors who have to deal with that set of stereotypes. Everybody Hates Chris was on for four seasons and it’s pretty great that Tyler was able to course-correct immediately after that, when he was only 17. There are other actors who are much older who aren’t as strategic and discerning, so it really speaks to his commitment and maturity that Tyler James was able to do that at a point in his career when he could have been booking jobs just for the sake of it. Anyway, I’m glad he proved that producer to be very, very, wrong. I hope they read this and are eating their words. I like him in Abbott, Dear White People, and I recently watched this rom-com on Netflix with him and Sarah Hyland that I enjoyed.
It breaks my heart that someone said that to a young kid. He’s so talented and I can’t wait to see his career keep growing.
Since Chris Rock himself was one of the producers, I’m putting my money on him. He seems like the type to do that then try to pass it off as a joke.
I’ve had people telling me I was complete crap since I was five. This doesn’t surprise me at all.
Same here, his acting was amazing in EHC, to tell such a awful thing to a young black boy it just speaks volumes about the kind of trash person behind those words
I watched that romcom right when it first came out and it was cute! I just stumbled upon it again the other day and rewatched. Netflix can be a little overwhelming.
Love him in Abbott. I can’t decide if I want him and Janine to really get together or just continue to have the tension and will they/won’t they
He was so good in the Chris Rock sitcom. I don’t watch Abbot El, so I had no idea he was in that. I always pull for child actors because they walk a dangerous path. I wish him much success
I love him on Abbot and that rom com w SH was so cute. I can’t imagine the trauma of being a child actor. It’s impressive that he had the strength to come out of that the way he did.
My friend is one of the producers on this show. I really, really hope it wasn’t my friend that said this to.him because they appeared to have a good relationship (basing it off my friend’s instagram)
Sounds as though this happened on the Everybody Hates Chris set… Is that what you’re referring to? I doubt Tyler would be friends now with someone who said this to him as a kid, so I’m sure it wasn’t your friend, if your friend is friends with him!
Also… Is your friend someone who would say this to a kid? 👀
he was on a short lived sitcom with matthew perry and john cho that i really liked called Go On. It was about a members of a therapy group all dealing with loss. perry lost his wife and williams played a young man who had lost his older brother, i think. i remember recognizing him from EHC, which i really liked, and was happy to see him again. he was great in a small, but affecting, role.
What a crappy thing to say to anyone, but especially a child. I don’t know if this was someone who just isn’t around children often and wasn’t thinking about how you can’t say the things you might joke around with an adult to them. or if someone is really, just a jerk, but it just goes to show you how much some power players in Hollywood are completely divorced from the standards of acceptable behavior in the workplace.
I never watched the show, but now I’m going to be keeping an eye on his career and rooting for him. I think it’s less universal now that child actors cannot grow into fulfilling adult careers. Look at Zac Efron, Selena Gomez, Daniel Radcliffe, and I’m sure there are others I am forgetting – all great examples of how to select adult roles very carefully to build a long term career.
Dude is a class act. Love him on Abbot.
What amazing foresight he had and he’s BRILLIANT on Abbott.
I loved him on his short stint on The Walking Dead. I didn’t expect to like new characters to the group.