Williams began his acting career at age 4. He later starred in
Little Bill as the voice of Bobby, briefly replacing Devon Malik Beckford in 2000, and played himself (or an eponymous character, "Tyler") on the
PBS series
Sesame Street from 2000 to 2005. He rose to fame in September 2005 by playing the title character in the hit series
Everybody Hates Chris, which finished in May 2009. He won a
Young Artist Award in 2007 for his work on the show. He was also a guest star in
Two for the Money,
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and the show
Hi-Jinks. In late 2009, Williams appeared in the second season of
True Jackson, VP as True's love interest Justin "Lil' Shakespeare" Weber in the two-part episode "Flirting with Fame." In 2010, Williams voiced
Jason Rusch in three episodes of
Batman: The Brave and the Bold. In 2012, Williams played the role of Owen in the series
Go On. He also played the lead role of Cyrus DeBarge in the
Disney Channel film
Let It Shine alongside
Coco Jones,
Trevor Jackson, and
Brandon Mychal Smith. Williams was also featured on nine songs on the film's soundtrack, showing off his rapping skills. The film premiered on June 15, 2012, and his songs "Don't Run Away", "Me and You", "Guardian Angel", "Let It Shine", and "Moment of Truth" all received airplay on
Radio Disney. The videos were also played frequently on the Disney Channel. Williams also guest starred in the
Disney XD series
Lab Rats as a future version of Leo, the character played by his younger brother
Tyrel Jackson Williams. In 2014, Williams starred in
Justin Simien's independent film
Dear White People as Lionel Higgins, and was cast as the recurring character Noah on the television series
The Walking Dead. In 2016, Williams played Russ "Monty" Montgomery in the
Criminal Minds spin-off
Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders. In 2019, Williams was cast as Jake in
The Wedding Year, a teen
romantic comedy film directed by
Robert Luketic and starring
Sarah Hyland,
Jenna Dewan,
Matt Shively, and
Anna Camp. In 2020, Williams played the role of Paul in
The Argument. In 2021, he began playing the role of Gregory Eddie in the
ABC mockumentary sitcom
Abbott Elementary. At the
74th Primetime Emmy Awards, Williams earned a nomination for
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for the role. == Personal life ==