Tyler James Williams Says Becoming Famous As A Child on ‘Everybody Hates Chris’ Was “Traumatic”

Abbott Elementary has become a hit show since it premiered in 2022, scoring Golden Globe and Emmy Awards for the show’s outstanding writing and cast. But actor Tyler James Williams is no stranger to achieving television fame.

The child star turned television heartthrob recently opened up about his experiences working on Everybody Hates Chris from 2005-2009, where he became famous just as he was becoming a teenager. He called experiencing fame at that age “the weirdest shit in the world.”

“The time this was happening was the same time the internet was becoming more ingrained in the industry,” Williams told GQ. “So as I’m going through the most awkward years of my life, everyone sees it. I think my voice was cracking nonstop during Seasons 2 and 3.”

He continued, “I was trying to find myself in front of everybody. And everybody had an opinion and was getting used to getting theirs out.”

The sitcom was semi-autobiographical, inspired by Chris Rock’s teenaged years in Brooklyn. Williams played Rock on the UPN/CW sitcom, showing the comedian as he grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant and attended high school.

Starring at the helm of the show was not easy. “​​I learned how to carry a show in a matter of two or three months,” Williams recalled. “It’s the most useful information I’ve ever gotten in my life.” 

But achieving fame at such a young age was “traumatic,” he says. He described being in therapy for years as a result. Williams also had to deal early on with the idea that Everybody Hates Chris could have been the end of his career if he didn’t think fast.

One particular moment from working on the show that stuck out to him was the time an Everybody Hates Chris producer told him, “I’ll never see you as anything else and you’ll probably never work again.” He noted that, while it might have been a joke, he internalized the comment.

The end of Everybody Hates Chris marked a turning point for him. “I decided to stop and pivot,” he said. “I got with a really good acting coach and I turned down every single thing I was offered.”

Williams went on to win a Golden Globe Award for best supporting actor on Abbott Elementary.



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‘Supernatural’ star Misha Collins talks ‘Gotham Knights’

He’s going from “Supernatural” to the world of Batman.

Misha Collins, best known for starring as the angel Castiel on “Supernatural,” plays Harvey Dent on the new CW show, “Gotham Knights.”

“The dynamic on set was very different,” Collins, 48, told The Post. 

“On ‘Supernatural,’ I joined in the fourth season. I was the new kid on a show where everybody was children on a playground. Coming into [“Gotham Knights”], it’s a young cast – most of whom don’t have experience on series television – and everybody was working hard to be prepared. So, in a funny way, I was working with a much younger and greener cast who were more professional than the ‘Supernatural’ cast was. It was fun to see the evolution over the course of the season, where everybody started to loosen up and be more playful.”

Premiering Tuesday, March 14 (9 p.m.), “Gotham Knights” is set in Gotham, after Bruce Wayne has been killed. It follows his adopted son, Turner Hayes (Oscar Morgan), who forms an unlikely alliance with the kids of Batman’s enemies, as they’re accused of the crime and must scramble to find out who the real culprit is. All the while, district attorney Harvey Dent (Collins), who is a friend of the Wayne family, leads the hunt for the killer. 


Misha Collins as Harvey Dent in “Gotham Knights.”
Jasper Savage/The CW

Misha Collins as Harvey Dent, Anna Lore as Stephanie Brown and K.K. Moggie as Cressida Clark in “Gotham Knights.”
Jasper Savage/The CW

Misha Collins as Castiel in “Supernatural,” next to Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki).
©CW Network/Courtesy Everett Collection

“It was also different for me, because I was coming in as the old dude who had a lot of experience under his belt,” said Collins. “Occasionally, I would find my younger cast mates looking to me like, ‘Is this how it’s done?’ And I still think of myself as a child. So, it was interesting to be in that position of being the grown-up on set – not one that I’m terribly well suited to!” 

Dent is also the Batman villain “Two-Face,” although his visage is still intact at the beginning of “Gotham Knights.” 

“We’re starting with Harvey Dent as the district attorney, an iconic side character in the Batman universe,” said Collins.

“But we’re slowly evolving the character into the iconic villain, Two-Face. In the past onscreen, the character goes from being the upstanding champion of justice and protector of the city to being a villain, because of one terrible incident where he’s disfigured. What we’re doing with the character is showing all of the cracks in Harvey’s psyche – his history of mental illness, the abuse of his childhood, and then finally getting to this catastrophic event that is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. It feels grounded and real.”


Harvey Dent (Misha Collins) with Turner Hayes (Oscar Morgan) in “Gotham Knights.”
Jasper Savage/THE CW

Collins has seen the past portrayal of Harvey Dent onscreen, and he said he prefers Aaron Eckhart’s version from “The Dark Knight” to Tommy Lee Jones in the 1995 movie “Batman Forever.” 

“I love Tommy Lee Jones as an actor, I go back and watch his performance in ‘The Fugitive’ often. And at the same time, I thought his Two Face was clownish buffoonery that made no sense. Someday, I’ll meet this acting legend and he’ll spit on my face for having said that.” 

But, even though he wasn’t a fan of that version of the character, Collins did share something in common with him. 

“When we were doing the mask for Two-Face, I have a contact lens in my eye, because the eye itself is damaged and looks messed up. And the woman who is an optometrist who did all the measurements for the lens was like, ‘You know, funny coincidence – I also did Tommy Lee Jones’ eye for his Two-Face, years ago!’” 

Meanwhile, there’s at least one “Supernatural” spinoff currently airing, prequel series “The Winchesters.” Collins said that he might return to that world.

“We had conversations in the first season, but it didn’t work out with the timing. But, if there are subsequent seasons of ‘The Winchesters,’ I’m certainly open to making an appearance.”

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‘Whose Line Is It Anyway’ fate in the air as star claims unfair wages

Colin Mochrie has been making viewers laugh on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” for years — but he claims in a new interview that his paycheck is actually a joke.

The 65-year-old comedian told Vulture that he has a love/hate relationship with the long-running improv TV show, which stars Mochrie, Wayne Brady and Ryan Stiles alongside host Aisha Tyler.

Inspired by the British show of the same name, the American version of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” first aired on ABC from 1998 to 2007. The CW revived it in 2013.

Mochrie tweeted in November that the show would come to an end with its 20th season, which would begin filming in January before premiering in March. Vulture reported Wednesday that the CW said Mochrie’s claim was “not accurate” and that “no decision has been made at this time about next season.”

But Mochrie tells Vulture: “Everyone at the show — producers and actors — are calling this the last taping. The short answer is that if it comes back, it probably won’t be with this cast.”


Colin Mochrie performs at the Astor Theatre on Oct. 15, 2013, in Perth, Australia.
WireImage

“There is a complicated relationship with the show,” Mochrie explained to the outlet. “The cast loves each other, and the actual shooting is always fun. We are all grateful that the show gave us a showcase and allowed us to be able to tour.”

“The downside is that we never received fair compensation for the success of the show,” Mochrie claimed. “We provide the content but don’t get paid as ‘writers.’ We never received residuals for a show that’s been shown around the world since its inception.


Ryan Stiles, from left, Wayne Brady, Aisha Tyler and Colin Mochrie of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” are photographed on July 30, 2013.
Getty Images

“Seeing announcements about the sale [of] the show overseas or to HBO Max can get irritating,” he added.

Mochrie said he hopes he isn’t coming off as “bitter” in this interview. He admitted he finds it “odd” that people still tweet at the cast to bring the show back because it’s been back for nine years.

“So the short answer is, as of now, this is the last season with this cast,” he reiterated. “The longer, more vague answer is that it’s like the Mafia: It keeps pulling us back, so who knows?”

The Post has contacted The CW for comment. A rep for Mochrie told The Post he has no further comment.

While “Whose Line” may not return, The CW announced last month it will broadcast the controversial start-up golf league LIV Golf.



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