Tyler James Williams

**Website** | Official Website

**Tyler James Williams** (born October 9, 1992) is an American actor, hip hop recording artist, martial artist, musician, music video director, film director and graphic designer. He is most recognizable for having played the title character of the Chris Rock-inspired sitcom *Everybody Hates Chris*, and songwriter Cyrus DeBarge in the Disney Channel movie *Let It Shine*. He has also had a supporting role as Noah on AMC's *The Walking Dead*. He now has a role on *Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders*.

## Early life

Williams was born in Westchester County, New York and was raised in Yonkers, New York . His mother, Angela Williams, is a singer/songwriter, and his father, Le’Roy Williams, is a police sergeant. Williams has two younger brothers; Tyrel Jackson Williams (b. 1997) and Tylen Jacob Williams (b. 2001). His younger brothers are both actors, with Tyrel starring on the Disney XD series, *Lab Rats* as Leo Dooley and Tylen starring on Instant Mom as James Phillips. Williams had also appeared on *Lab Rats*, portraying his brother's character's future self.

## Career

Williams began his acting career at age four. 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 children's show *Sesame Street* from 2000 to 2005. He rose to fame in 2005 by playing the title character in the hit series *Everybody Hates Chris*, which finished in 2009. He won a Young Artist Award in 2007 for his work on the show. He has also been 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* 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 Disney Channel Original Movie *Let It Shine* alongside Coco Jones, Trevor Jackson, and Brandon Mychal Smith. 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. The videos were also played frequently on the Disney Channel. Williams also guest starred in the Disney XD series, *Lab Rats* as a future version of the character his little brother Tyrel Jackson Williams played.

In 2014 Williams starred in Justin Simien's 2014 independent film *Dear White People* as Lionel Higgins.

In 2014, Williams was cast as the recurring character Noah on the television series *The Walking Dead*.

Starting in 2016, Williams will be playing Russ "Monty" Montgomery in the *Criminal Minds* spin-off *Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders*.

## Awards and nominations

### NAACP Image Award

 2007
 2008
 2009
 2010

## References

1. ^"Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search". google.com.
2. ^Tyler James Williams filmreference.com
3. ^Tyler James Williams Biography. Tvguide.com. Retrieved on 2012-06-18.
4. ^"Tyler James Williams: star of Everybody Hates Chris.". Ebony. January 1, 2006. Retrieved September 8, 2012. – via HighBeam Research (subscription required)
5. ^Lesley Goldberg. "'Walking Dead' Adds 'Go On' Alum in New Mystery Role". The Hollywood Reporter.
6. ^"'Criminal Minds' Episode 10.19 Photos: Meet the FBI's International Unit". www.buddytv.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
7. ^Andreeva, Nellie. "Tyler James Williams Cast In 'Criminal Minds' Spinoff". Deadline. Retrieved 2016-01-30.

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tyler James Williams filmreference.com
2. ↑ Tyler James Williams Biography. Tvguide.com. Retrieved on 2012-06-18.
3. ↑ Template:Cite webTemplate:Subscription required
4. ↑ Template:Cite web
5. ↑ Template:Cite web
6. ↑ Template:Cite web