Tyler James Williams Had To ‘Stop & Pivot’ After ‘Everybody Hates Chris’ Producer Told Him That He’d ‘Never Work Again’

March 24, 2023 by Tsai-Ann Hill in TV with 0 Comments

Tyler James Williams

Tyler James Williams Had To ‘Stop & Pivot’ After ‘Everybody Hates Chris’ Producer Told Him That He’d ‘Never Work Again’

Tyler James Williams had to take a moment to recenter himself after he received a harsh comment from a TV producer.

“Everybody Hates Chris” star Tyler James Williams is opening up about a crazy experience he had while on the set of his former show. According to the New York native, who was a minor during his time on the comedy series, a producer once said to him,

“’I’ll never see you as anything else and you’ll probably never work again.’”

Tyler James Williams expressed that the producer could have meant the comment as a joke but it didn’t land that way. He continued,

“I was like, ‘Holy sh*t, you really just looked at me and said that.'”

As you may recall, “Everybody Hates Chris” is a sitcom that was inspired (and narrated) by comedian Chris Rock’s childhood and upbringing. It ran for four seasons from 2005-2009 and won multiple NAACP Image Awards.

During his interview, Williams said that as a child star, he learned “pretty f*cking quickly” that young celebrities can get stuck into playing teenage-based roles for a long time, and that’s something he didn’t want. He continued,

“I realized at 17 that I didn’t like the road I was on. 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.”

Thankfully, Williams was able to break free from the curse of being typecast and didn’t allow the former producer’s remark to stop him from his love of acting. After a brief career hiatus, Williams went on to have a part in “Dear White People,” “The Walking Dead,” and more!

The actor is now playing the role of Gregory Eddie on the hit series “Abbott Elementary,” which recently earned him a Golden Globe Award for “Best Supporting Actor.”