Tyler James Williams shares his experience navigating Hollywood as a child actor after his breakout role in the famous semi-autobiographical sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. The actor remembered a particular remark made by a producer on the show about his prospects in the entertainment industry and their thoughts, according to Deadline.

According to an interview held with GQ, Williams recalled a comment made to him by one of the producers of Everybody Hates Chris:

“‘I’ll never see you as anything else and you’ll probably never work again.’”

Willaims added, “I was like, ‘Holy shit, you really just looked at me and said that.’”

Despite the possibility that the producer’s comment was meant to be a jest, Williams noted that it stayed with him, according to Huffington Post.

After the show’s conclusion, Williams went on a journey to establish himself in Hollywood as a young adult and even took a break until he found suitable projects, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“I realized at 17 that I didn’t like the road I was on,” said Williams. “So I decided to stop and pivot. I got with a really good acting coach and I turned down every single thing I was offered.”

Following his hiatus, Williams landed a starring role in the film Dear White People and later appeared on The Walking Dead and Criminal Minds. He also accepted roles in The Wedding Year and The United States vs. Billie Holiday.

“It was traumatic. I still get triggered by things that are part of everybody else’s childhood. Every time someone comes up to me, regardless of what it is they recognize me for, what that says to me at the moment is that I’m seen. I have to be on, immediately, because someone’s watching.”

He may not have anticipated his next project, as he had been avoiding network TV and sitcoms in particular while searching for his next role. However, when Quinta Brunson (Lazor Wulf, A Black Lady Sketch Show) called him and told him she wrote a role with him in mind, he had to consider it because she didn’t have a traditional TV background.

“What I love most about him is watching him try to bridge the gap between being something he hasn’t seen before and what his kids need,” Williams says of Gregory to GQ.“I think a lot of Black men are trying to do something we’ve never seen before.” The more time the former substitute spends with his students, the better he understands his position as a role model, especially in light of the scarcity of Black male teachers in classrooms.

Catch Tyler James Williams on Abbott Elementary on ABC.