Tyler James Williams Says 'Abbott Elementary' Role Is 'Most Important' Thing He's Done in His Career (Exclusive) (2024)

Tyler James Williams has been a mainstay on TV for years, starting in 2005 when he starred on Everybody Hates Chris for four seasons and went on to have roles in Go On, The Walking Dead and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders among others. His latest gig, as the beloved first-grade teacher Gregory Eddie on Abbot Elementary, is a character that's especially important to Williams.

“I handle him [Gregory] with immense amounts of care. Immense. I always think about his emotional spectrum first,” Williams, 31, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. "I think that's part of it, is that I want to make sure that his strength is living in tandem with his emotionality, that it's not devoid of such.”

The representation he brings to screens as Gregory is something he takes very seriously.

“I think that's the overall goal for me here, is to show not only Black male educators in a certain light, but then also Black men in a certain light that are allowed to be emotional and have full emotional spectrums, and then also be in love,” he adds, referring to his character’s blossoming onscreen relationship with Janine Teagues (played by Quinta Brunson). “It’s one of the most important things I've ever done in my career is showing this, especially with the platform that we have.”

Williams is now a three-time Emmy nominee, but learning he will be honored again for his work onAbbott Elementary (he's nominated for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series at the 2024 ceremony) is always a surreal experience for the star.

“Every time [I’m nominated], man, it's surreal,” he says. “There's so much good TV out there with so many good actors. So for them to even be able to put — what is it? — five or six of us into a category is insane. There were times where I couldn't imagine being [nominated], and I think every time it happens, I feel connected to that."

Abbott Elementary received nine Emmy nominations this year. In addition to Williams, Brunson earned a nod for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series, while Sheryl Lee Ralph was also nominated for outstanding s­upporting actress in a comedy series. Likewise, Janelle James was nominated for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series.

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With the cast now going into table reads for the show’s upcoming fourth season, Williams views his costars as family. And like many families, they keep close to one another via group chat.

“Every set is like a family, so we talk about set drama, our internal family drama of who's doing this with this and who's upset,” he jokes. “But Chris Perfetti is the one to send in something that's completely out of the left field and really funny. Sheryl and Lisa [Ann Walter] are giving us constant updates on everything that they see.”

“Janelle is fairly quiet. Every now and then, she'll chime in,” Williams adds. “She's one of those group chat people who's in there, she's just watching. She's not really saying much, she's just watching the chain."

To pass the time on set, Williams says they occasionally play games together. "A few times we tried to play Hangman," he says. "I think that's actually where one of the jokes for [an episode of] Abbott came from. Janine is playing Hangman and she forgets what the word was. I know Quinta did that once."

He continues, "We were playing Hangman and somebody came and asked her something and then halfway through she forgot what it was."

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As for who's most competitive during game sessions? "Lisa's going to get it," he shares. "Doesn't matter how simple the game is, she's going to get into it."

Seasons 1 to 3 of Abbott Elementary are available to stream on Hulu. Season 4 premieres on Oct. 9 on ABC.