Williams began his acting career at age 4.[6] 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,[7] 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.[citation needed] 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."[8]
In 2012, Williams played the role of Owen in the series Go On.[9] He also played the lead role of Cyrus DeBarge in the Disney Channel film Let It Shine[10] 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.[11] 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 the character played by his younger brother Tyrel Jackson Williams.[12]
^Schneider, Jordan Moreau,Michael; Moreau, Jordan; Schneider, Michael (July 12, 2022). "Emmys 2022: The Complete Nominations List". Variety. Retrieved July 12, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ abc"Tyler James Williams (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved December 7, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.