Tyler James Williams (born October 9, 1992) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, making several appearances on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'', '' Little Bill'', and ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

''. Williams later rose to prominence for playing the role of

Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...

on the

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...

/ CW

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

'' Everybody Hates Chris'' (200509). Following this, he starred as songwriter Cyrus DeBarge in the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

original movie '' Let It Shine'' (2012), and Noah on

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** AM ...

horror television series '' The Walking Dead'' (201415)''.'' He currently stars as Gregory Eddie on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

sitcom '' Abbott Elementary'', for which he has received critical acclaim and a

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre, or even gender, specific. Beginning ...

nomination. Additionally, Williams has also appeared in films such as ''Detroit'' (2017) and ''

The United States vs. Billie Holiday ''The United States vs. Billie Holiday'' is a 2021 American biographical film, biographical drama film about singer Billie Holiday, based on the book ''Chasing the Scream, Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs'' by Johan ...

'' (2021).

Early life

Williams was born in

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

, and grew up in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

. His mother, Angela Williams, is a counselor, and his father, Le’Roy Williams, is a teacher and retired police sergeant.Tyler James Williams
filmreference.com Williams has two younger brothers;

Tyrel Jackson Williams Tyrel Jackson Williams (born March 16, 1997) is an American actor. He starred as Leo Dooley in the Disney XD series ''Lab Rats''. Williams also co-starred in the 2014 Disney XD television film '' Pants on Fire''. From 2017 to 2020 he co-starred ...

(b. 1997) and

Tylen Jacob Williams Tylen Jacob Williams (born December 8, 2001) is an American actor. He is known for his role as James Phillips in the Nick at Nite television comedy series ''Instant Mom''. Early life Williams was born in Westchester County, New York. His moth ...

(b. 2001). Both his younger brothers are also actors; Tyrel starred on the Disney XD series ''

Lab Rats A laboratory rat is a rat of the species ''Rattus norvegicus'' which is bred and kept for scientific research. Labrat, lab rat, or lab rats may also refer to: People and characters * Dunash ben Labrat (920–990), medieval Jewish commentator ...

'' as Leo Dooley and Tylen starred on the

Nick at Nite Nick at Nite (stylized as nick@nite) is an American nighttime basic cable television channel that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon. It typically broadcasts Mondays to Thursday nights from 9 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time Zone, ET/Pac ...

sitcom ''

Instant Mom ''Instant Mom'' is an American sitcom produced for the NickMom block on the Nick Jr. channel. It was developed by Howard Michael Gould and stars Tia Mowry as a stepmother of three children alongside her husband. The series first aired on Septemb ...

'' as James Phillips. Williams also appeared on ''Lab Rats'', portraying his brother's character's future self and ''Instant Mom'' as his younger brother's family cousin Jamal.

Career

Williams began his acting career at age 4. He later starred in '' Little Bill'' as the voice of Bobby, briefly replacing Devon Malik Beckford in 2000, and played himself (or an eponymous character, "Tyler") on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

series ''

'' from 2000 to 2005. He rose to fame in September 2005 by playing the title character in the hit series '' Everybody Hates Chris'', which finished in May 2009. He won a

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

in 2007 for his work on the show. He was also a guest star in '' Two for the Money'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', and the show '' Hi-Jinks''. In late 2009, Williams appeared in the second season of ''

True Jackson, VP ''True Jackson, VP'' is an American teen sitcom created by Andy Gordon for Nickelodeon. It aired from November 8, 2008, to August 20, 2011. The series stars Keke Palmer, Ashley Argota, Matt Shively, Danielle Bisutti, Greg Proops, Robbie Amell ...

'' as True's love interest Justin "Lil' Shakespeare" Weber in the two-part episode "Flirting with Fame." In 2012, Williams got the role of Owen in the series ''Go On''. He also played the lead role of Cyrus DeBarge in the

original movie '' Let It Shine'' alongside Coco Jones, Trevor Jackson, and

Brandon Mychal Smith Brandon Mychal Smith (born May 29, 1989) is an American actor, singer, dancer, and rapper. He is best known for playing Bug Wendal in ''Gridiron Gang'', Li'l Danny Dawkins in ''Phil of the Future'', Nico Harris in ''Sonny with a Chance'' and '' ...

. Williams was also featured on nine songs on the film's soundtrack, showing off his rapping skills. The movie premiered on June 15, 2012, and his songs "Don't Run Away," "Me and You," "Guardian Angel," "Let It Shine" and "Moment of Truth" all received airplay on

Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within the Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programming ...

. The videos were also played frequently on the

. Williams also guest starred in the Disney XD series ''

'' as a future version of the character played by his younger brother

. In 2014, Williams starred in

Justin Simien Justin Simien (born May 7, 1983) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. His first feature film, ''Dear White People'', won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. The film was later ...

's independent film '' Dear White People'' as Lionel Higgins, and was cast as the recurring character Noah on the television series '' The Walking Dead''. In 2016, Williams played Russ "Monty" Montgomery in the ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...

'' spin-off '' Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders''. In 2017, Williams was diagnosed with

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, abdominal distension ...

after experiencing symptoms for three years. Since his diagnosis, he has undergone treatment, including multiple surgeries. In 2019, Williams was cast as Jake in the movie ''

The Wedding Year ''The Wedding Year'' is a 2019 American romantic comedy film directed by Robert Luketic and starring Sarah Hyland, Tyler James Williams, Jenna Dewan, Matt Shively and Anna Camp. It was released on September 20, 2019, by Entertainment Studios M ...

'', teen

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by

Robert Luketic Robert Luketic (born 1 November 1973) is an Australian film director. His films include ''Legally Blonde'' (2001), ''Monster-in-Law'' (2005), ''21 (2008 film), 21'' (2008), ''Killers (2010 film), Killers'' (2010), and ''Paranoia (2013 film), Pa ...

and starring

Sarah Hyland Sarah Jane Hyland (born November 24, 1990) is an American actress and singer. Born in Manhattan, she attended the Professional Performing Arts School before having small roles in the films '' Private Parts'' (1997), '' Annie'' (1999) and ''Blin ...

, Jenna Dewan,

Matt Shively Matthew James Shively Jr. (born September 15, 1990)
PopTower.com. No date. Acces ...

, and

Anna Camp Anna Ragsdale Camp (born September 27, 1982) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as the villainous Sarah Newlin in the HBO vampire drama ''True Blood'' (2009, 2013–2014) and Aubrey Posen in the musical comedy '' ...

. In 2020, Williams played the role of Paul in '' The Argument''. In 2021, began playing the role of Gregory Eddie in the

Mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary. At the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, Williams earned a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for the role.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Black Reel Awards

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards The Hollywood Creative Alliance (HCA) is a film critic organization in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 2016 as the Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society and renamed in 2019 to Hollywood Critics Association. In 2023, the organization ...

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United S ...

Young Artist Awards The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

Discography

* '' Let It Shine'' Soundtrack (2012) * ''Me, My Brother, And A Mic'' (2015)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Tyler James 1992 births Living people 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American rappers African-American male actors African-American male child actors African-American male rappers American male child actors American male film actors American male rappers American male television actors American male voice actors East Coast hip hop musicians Male actors from New York (state) People from Westchester County, New York People from Yonkers, New York People with Crohn's disease Rappers from New York (state)