Williams graduated from Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1998.[3] After he graduated from high school, his father began teaching history in northern Maine, while his mother continued to work in pottery. He has two younger brothers, who both specialize and work in the field of visual arts.[3][5]
In 2005, Williams began to study acting and was chosen to participate in the New York Actors Showcase presented by ABC Television, one of 14 actors chosen from among more than 800 individuals who auditioned.[3] Since 2006, he has appeared in a number of television series, films and theatre productions. In 2012, he established a production company, farWord Inc.[5]
In May 2012, a fan campaign was organized to try to influence film executives to cast him in the role of Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.[9] This news resulted in some Hunger Games fans protesting casting decisions made by the film executives.[10]
In 2013, Williams wrote an opinion piece for CNN which analyzed the film Django Unchained.[11] Later that year he narrated the audio version of the book The Bane Chronicles: What Really Happened In Peru, by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan.[12]
In 2006, Williams appeared in an episode of Law & Order, portraying the character Kwame. He also appeared in the role of Drew Collins, in two episodes of the ABC Family series Greek.[13]
On October 15, 2009, Williams began appearing as surgical resident Jackson Avery, in the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy.[14] On June 8, 2010, it was announced Williams would be a series regular, starting in season 7.[15] He worked with the series for 12 seasons, and his departure was announced in May 2021.[16] His final episode aired May 20 on ABC. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in May 2021, Williams said the decision to leave the show was "a collective thing" and part of a discussion the actor had with showrunner Krista Vernoff about Jackson's trajectory that ultimately helped solidify 11 seasons of storyline.[17] In May and October 2022, he returned in guest appearances in seasons 18 and 19.
Williams was named the TV Actor of the Year at the 2011 Young Hollywood Awards.[18]BuddyTV ranked him as No. 6 on its "TV's 100 Sexiest Men of 2010" list[19] and No. 11 in 2011.[20]
Williams has served as a guest director for student productions at the Urban Arts Partnership 24 Hour Plays Off-Broadway, at the request of Rosie Perez and Anna Strout.[8][21]
Williams is the youngest member of the board of directors at The Advancement Project, a civil rights think tank and advocacy group. He is also the executive producer of Question Bridge: Black Males, a multifaceted media project, art exhibition, student and teacher curriculum and website,[25] focused on the black male identity and the diversity within the demographic.
In June 2016, Williams won the humanitarian award at the 2016 BET Awards. His acceptance speech highlighted issues of racial injustice, police brutality, and the 'invention of whiteness'.[28] As a result of his speech, dueling petitions were circulated: one to have Williams fired from Grey's Anatomy and one to keep him on the series.[29]
He appeared as the love interest of R&B singer Rihanna in the music video for her single "Russian Roulette" from her 2009 album Rated R. He also appears in the music video for Estelle's song "Fall In Love", from the album All of Me.[21] In 2018, Williams appeared in the video for "Tell Me You Love Me" by Demi Lovato.
Williams did the voice acting and performance capture for Markus in the video gameDetroit: Become Human, which first released on May 25, 2018, for the PlayStation 4. He also did the voice acting and performance capture for Duke in the video game NBA 2K21, which released worldwide on September 4, 2020, for multiple consoles.
Personal life
Williams dated Aryn Drake-Lee for five years before the two married on September 1, 2012. The couple have two children together, a daughter Sadie Williams (b. December 2013) and a son Maceo Williams (b. October 2015). The couple filed for divorce in April 2017.[31] The divorce was finalized in October 2020.[32]
