TV & Movies

TheAbbott Elementarystar spent more than two decades on television.

Now, hes showing everybody how its done.

Tyler James Williams somehow looks different than he did a few years ago.

Tyler James Williams, star of ABC’s hit series Abbott Elementary

But Williams has been around long enough to know when its real.

Its a day of multiple talk show tapings around Manhattan for Williams.

(Not usually the best interview food, but lets wild out, he says.)

Tyler James Williams smiling in a red jacket and white sweater

Its flashierthan anything Gregory would wear, but then again, he isnt Greg.

Williams picked up a Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nomination for his performance as Greg.

There are so many subtleties to his performance.

A red jacket and white sweater trending outfit worn by Tyler James Williams

I feel much more in control than I have with anything else.

A sense of control is significant to a former child actor accustomed to being told what to do.

Williams booked his first gigas a regular onSesame Streetand appeared on the childrens program from age 4 through 10.

Tyler James Williams sitting on a chair in black pants and a black jacket varsity jacket

I love that hes got that kind of knowledge.

But Williams no longer finds it weird to reflect.

The more I talk about it, the better I feel, he says.

Sitcom Abbott Elementary actor Tyler James Williams

For a long time, I tried to outrun it, and it made things worse.

Growing up in Yonkers, New York, Williams attended public school until sixth grade before being home-schooled.

Like many child actors, he had trouble finding friends who could relate to him.

Young actor, Tyler James Williams, wearing a black sweater

Years later, people still ask Williams how hes so well-adjusted.

That was the uphill fight and what feels like the fight of my career and life.

Because [acting] is the only thing that I love like this.

Thirty year-old Tyler James Williams in a black varsity jacket, pants, and shoes

I lost 6 inches of my intestines to that.

I had the stories.

I knew what to attempt to avoid, he says.

Finally, he hired a therapist to help confront his fears.

I think I overcompensated.

I was really calculated in everything I did.

These days, Williams knows the business better and has used that awareness to reclaim control of his career.

At first, I was coasting on raw talent and seeing what would happen, he says.

Now, my game is refined.

I know what Im doing.

On the opposite end,Abbottis warmth in an age of darkness.

Williams asks me if I feel good after watching an episode.

I hope so, he says.

But it had no heart to it.

And this inherently did.

Brunson wrote Gregory with Williams in mind from the start.

We both approach comedy in a similar way.

The surplus of streaming platforms has inched Black television content closer to a percentage that reflects our daily lives.

But Hollywood has always struggled to sustain and nurture a consistent number of Black stories.

Williams gets backhanded compliments aboutAbbottall the time.

And Im like, well, what does that mean exactly?

For me, its good TV, regardless.

Shit, you saw withEverybody Hates Chris.

We werent [considered] one of the elite shows at the time.

We suffered after the fact because of that, says Williams.

Sheryls [Emmy] win [forAbbott] validates that in a way.

Its not this old-school mentality where theres this stuff, and then theres your stuff.

Its all good stuff.

It just so happens to have a predominantly Black cast.

Over the years, hed been so overly cautious of his image that it felt good to let loose.

I spent so much of my 20s digging my way out of that child actor hole, he says.

I dont speak fluent Spanish, but I was in there hollering all the lyrics like Im Puerto Rican.

We got a box, and we partied.

Williams lives with his brother Tylen in LA and is looking for a second place in New York.

Hes single and opting for meet-cutes mainly on the exclusive, celebrity-populated dating app Raya.

(We cant move via DM.

Everything is being watched, he says.)

So thats my criteria.

Can you actually see me, or is this because its trendy?