It isn’t a coincidence that Abbott Elementary is one of the most celebrated TV shows that is still being produced. After all, Abbott Elementary fans tend to notice when jokes from the past are brought back, worry about the potential of characters being written off, and want to know about Chris Perfetti’s past. Abbott Elementary fans also get excited about the show’s award-winning guest stars and notice how the sitcom is following in The Office’s footsteps.
Since he is one of the show’s main stars, most Abbott Elementary fans care about Tyler James Williams so much that they know all about his illness. However, many fans aren’t aware that Tyler stated that his unique past has helped him star in Abbott Elementary for an interesting reason.
Abbott Elementary’s Tyler James Williams History As A Child Star Helps Him Understand His Young Co-Stars
Over the last several decades, there have been several sitcoms that have become iconic. For example, there is no doubt that shows like Seinfeld, Friends, The Office, Modern Family, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air have secured their places in television history.
Sadly, however, some truly great sitcoms have not be given the amount of respect they deserved from viewers. One perfect example of that is the fact that Everybody Hates Chris should be considered a classic beloved sitcom, instead of the cult classic it is.
After starring in Everybody Hates Chris as a child star, Tyler James Williams has gone on to headline Abbott Elementary. Recently, Tyler revealed why his past life as a child star has made starring in Abbott Elementary easier.
In April 2025, Tyler was interviewed by Esquire about the mammoth success of Abbott Elementary.
Screen Rant’s Tyler James Williams’ Best Roles, According to IMDB | ||
|---|---|---|
Movie/TV Series | IMDb Score | Rank |
Let It Shine | 6.3 | #10 |
The United States vs. Billie Holiday | 6.3 | #9 |
Whiskey Cavalier | 7.1 | #8 |
Batman: The Brave and the Bold | 7.3 | #7 |
Detroit | 7.3 | #6 |
Go On | 7.5 | #5 |
Everybody Hates Chris | 7.5 | #4 |
Ballers | 7.6 | #3 |
The Walking Dead | 8.1 | #2 |
Abbott Elementary | 8.2 | #1 |
During his conversation with Esquire, Tyler was asked what it is like working with so many kids on Abbott Elementary. In response, Tyler explained why his past as a former child star helps him work with the sitcom’s young actors.
It’s part of the brilliance of the show. I was their age when I worked before, so I’m very used to these laws and constraints. They’re what I grew up with.
Tyler’s remarks are interesting because it has long been said that you should “never work with children or animals.”
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While Tyler has the advantage of understanding child stars because of his past, that unfortunately isn’t the case for everyone involved with Abbott Elementary.
In March 2023, The Wrap published an article about Tyler James Williams looking at his past as a former child star. That article revealed that Tyler began starring in Everybody Hates Chris when he was 12 years old. Before starring in that sitcom for four seasons, Tyler began his acting career when he was only four years old.
During his Esquire interview, Tyler revealed that it was the other people who work on Abbott Elementary who had to learn to deal with the show’s child stars.
It’s everybody else getting used to it.
Even though a lot of people may not realize it, there are very specific laws about how many hours child stars can spend working.
Tyler James Williams’s Abbott Elementary performance has been celebrated, which has resulted in him being nominated for and winning many awards. Most notably, as the official website shows, Tyler has been nominated for the Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series Emmy Award in 2022, 2023, and 2024 to date.
While talking to Esquire, Tyler outlined the basic facts about the requirements of how Abbott Elementary’s child stars must be treated.
“We can pretty much only work nine and a half hours a day with the kids. They then have to get three hours of school. So really, you only get six. [Laughs.] And they have to break for lunch at a very specific time and you can’t go over it.”
According to Tyler, those rules have dramatically changed how Abbott Elementary is produced.
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While talking to Esquire, Tyler explained that working with so many child stars has helped make Abbott Elementary run very smoothly.
“It makes our show very efficient. We get things done in a few takes. Once we have the kids quieted down and ready to go, and everyone’s gone to the bathroom, you get it done while you can. But everyone comes to our show and they talk about how good of a work atmosphere it is. Kids being around requires people to be their best selves.”
Tyler James Williams Had To Overcome His Child Star Past To Be Cast In Abbott Elementary
Once Tyler James Williams joined the cast of Abbott Elementary, being a former child star helped him deal with the show’s demands. However, that doesn’t mean that Tyler’s status as a former child star helped him land the role or be hired to work on other shows and movies. Instead, it turns out that Tyler had to fight to overcome the perception that he is only a former child star.
In June 2024, Tyler had a conversation with Anthony Mackie about their careers for a Variety article. When Anthony asked him about transitioning from his days as a child star, Tyler explained how hard he had to fight to overcome his child star past.
“I had to fight for my career to survive, and I feel like if that wasn’t the case, I wouldn’t have gone as hard as I did. I was fighting for staying power — fighting to say that I wasn’t just a cute kid who could land a joke every now and then.”
During another interview, Tyler revealed the stunning way he found out continuing his career was likely to be a challenge.
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In March 2023, Tyler was interviewed by GQ for a profile of his career at that time. During that conversation, Tyler told a truly crazy story from his past that goes back to when he was starring in Everybody Hates Chris. As Tyler explained, a producer who worked on Everybody Hates Chris told him that his career was going to be over after the show.
I’ll never see you as anything else, and you’ll probably never work again.
While talking to GQ, Tyler stated that the comment probably was meant to be a joke, but it stuck with him anyway. Tyler also told GQ how he reacted to that stunning comment.
I was like, ‘Holy s***, you really just looked at me and said that.’
With that story in mind, it makes sense that Tyler told GQ that he figured out early on that he was going to have to battle to maintain his career as an adult. “I figured that out pretty f****** quickly.”
Abbott Elementary
- Release Date
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December 7, 2021
- Network
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ABC
- Showrunner
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Quinta Brunson
- Writers
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Quinta Brunson
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Quinta Brunson
Janine Teagues
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Tyler James Williams
Gregory Eddie
-
Sheryl Lee Ralph
Barbara Howard
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Lisa Ann Walter
Melissa Schemmenti
