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This is Fresh Air, I'm Tanya Mosley.

On the popular ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary, Actor Tyler James Williams portrays a stoic

no-nonsense first-grade teacher who has a crush on a fellow teacher played by

Quinta Brunson, the creator and star of the series.

The show follows their characters and a team of quirky teachers as they, through trial and error,

try to give these kids a quality education at Abbott Elementary.

Playing a teacher is Tyler's latest role in a long career that spans more than 25 years.

He began as a child actor, most notably as a young Chris Rock in the TV show Everybody hates

Chris. He's also starred in several other movies and shows including Dear White

People, The United States versus Billy Holiday, and season five of the AMC horror drama The Walking Dead.

Last year Williams won a golden globe for his portrayal of Gregory on Abbott Elementary,

which is now in its third season.

And Tyler James Williams, welcome to Fresh Air.

Thank you for having me.

Okay, I'm so excited for this conversation.

I want to ask you about this character first off because when you won the Golden Globe

award last year, which congratulations by the way, you said something like this win is for all the

Gregory Eddies of the world to understand

that his story is just as important as all of the other stories.

What do you love most about this character? I love the simplicity of Gregory. I love

...