Tyler James Williams as Monty Montgomery in the CBS drama Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders
Since the age of 4, we've watched Tyler James Williams bring his unique brand of charisma to the screen; he rose to fame playing a young Chris Rock in the beloved sitcom Everybody Hates Chris, our hearts were broken when his character Noah was killed off on The Walking Dead, and he starred in the 2014 film Dear White People - a biting racial satire film.
Now, you can see Tyler using some serious tech to chase bad guys who are all over the globe in the new hit CBS drama Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders. In the series, Tyler portrays Monty Montgomery, a young technical analyst with an intelligence that is well beyond his years.
"Monty is one of those guys who is very intelligent, he's a very young guy in a very adult role. He has a commanding voice with a baby face." Tyler said.
From left to right: Daniel Henney, Tyler James Williams, Annie Funke, Alana de la Garza and Gary Sinise
Along with Tyler, the Criminal Minds spinoff boasts an impressive cast including Gary Sinise, Alana de la Garza, Daniel Henney, and Annie Funke.
I recently had the chance to sit down to lunch with Tyler for my podcast, BryanTALKS, at Fig and Olive in West Hollywood, it was prior to the premiere of Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders - he had just arrived back in the country not long before our conversation, having just come back from a convention for fans of The Walking Dead.
"Those fans are awesome, it's a great way to meet the people who are not only fans of the show, but now they follow you as an actor. That's not something that happens often." Tyler said.
Tyler and I discussed in further detail his role on Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, his love of New York and what first time visitors of the Big Apple should and should not do, and his love for the craft of acting versus his love of music.
That's right, this multi-talented guy can also flow, and quite nicely too. Last year, Tyler and his brother Tyrel Jackson Williams released a mixtape entitled, Me, My Brother & A Mic.
Tyler and I discuss that and more on this episode of the BryanTALKS podcast, my conversation with Tyler starts at 10:46, or you can listen to the entire episode, wink. Click below to listen.
Pictures are courtesy of used with the permission of CBS