Tyler James Williams, star of the Emmy-winning show “Abbott Elementary,” is reflecting on his experiences as a child actor and the issues he faced as his career evolved. Having grown up in the spotlight on the popular CW show “Everybody Hates Chris,” Williams has often spoken about his unconventional childhood, previously labeled his experience being a child as “traumatic.” He has cited growing up in public and the subsequent struggles with his mental health as reasons for seeking therapy. Now, Williams is also sharing the valuable lessons he imparts to the young actors on the set of “Abbott Elementary.”
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Over the years, Williams has been outspoken about his unconventional childhood, having grown up in the spotlight as the star of the popular CW show, “Everybody Hates Chris.” He’s previously labeled his experience being a child as “traumatic” citing the fact that he had to grow up in front of the world and how he eventually had to seek therapy to help him get a grip on his mental health struggles.
Now, in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Williams explained that he also dealt with a level of professional trauma as a child actor when it came to how others perceived him and how he had to navigate his path to continual stardom as he aged.
“What was very difficult was the amount of people who didn’t respect me as an actor and as a child. You can hear that. You can hear somebody talking to you like a child. Although a lot of times, at that point, I was doing more TV than most adults,” he shared.
He went on to say that he faced a harsh reality when he realized that once a child actor turns 18, all their past accolades and feats in their career essentially disappear and things start afresh. Williams said that while he’s come to terms with that being the case, the hardship for him came due to the fact that nobody warned him about the stark change.
Because of that, the “Let It Shine” star is adamant about making sure the young stars on “Abbott” are adequately prepared for how the industry will view them and is ensuring that their parents are doing their part to warn them ahead of time.
“We have a lot of kids on ‘Abbott,’ and every now and then, a parent will ask me, ‘What should I do?’ and ‘How should this go? and I make sure they know that you can do whatever you want to do right now,” Williams said. “But when she turns 18 or he turns 18, this is all going out the door, and they have to start over anyway.”
He continued: “So, prepare them for that, prepare them for the idea that, also, it’s not going to be based on, are you just a cute kid who is more charismatic than usual? You have to come out here and bang with the adults. And we work really hard, and we train really hard, and they have to learn how to do that.”
“So I think that was the hardest part. No one tells you that that’s what you’re going to have to do, and you have to slowly figure that out over time,” Williams concluded.
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