Successful child actors are sometimes typecast, making it difficult for them to be considered for roles when they are adults. That is exactly what happened to “Everybody Hates Chris” star Tyler James Williams.
During a recent interview with GQ, Williams recalled what a producer told him about his future in acting.
” ‘I’ll never see you as anything else, and you’ll probably never work again,’ ” Williams said about what the producer told him. “I was like, ‘holy s—, you just looked at me and said that.’ ”
Williams said the comment may have been intended as a joke, but it stuck with him for a long time time.
“I realized at 17 that I didn’t like the road I was on. So I decided to stop and pivot,” he explained. “I got with a really good acting coach and turned down everything I was offered.”
The actor has appeared in several popular television shows, including “Walking Dead,” “Criminal Minds,” “Whiskey Cavalier,” “Dear White People,” and now stars in Quinta Brunson’s “Abbott Elementary.”
Williams has snagged a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, an NAACP Image Award, and an Emmy nomination for his outstanding performances. Clearly, he proved the naysayers wrong and transitioned to adult roles smoothly.
