For many U.S. residents, the year 2020 was one of reflection and reinvention. For actor Tyriq Withers, the year saw him relocating to become one step closer to achieving a dream that has quickly turned into a reality within the past two years.
The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and the end of his college tenure in May of that year persuaded Withers — a Jacksonville, Florida, native who dabbled in plays and hosting events as a student at Florida State University — that it was time to pack up his bags and travel to Atlanta to pursue a professional career.
Like every journey, there were some initial bumps in the road.
“Moving out here not having money, you’re trying to pick out a good photographer, good coaches. With that stress, you feel lost and completely stuck,” he said. “I was just emailing agents, and heard ‘no, no, no’ and then found one who said ‘yes.’ I got my headshots and wholeheartedly committed to it. The rest was history.”
“I always look to playing characters who will allow me to find different nuances and ways to exist.”
After over a year of auditions, the performer landed major roles on three Atlanta-filmed series in 2022: recurring roles on Paramount+’s “The Game” and the new Hulu drama “Tell Me Lies,” as well as the leading role in a memorable anthology episode in the third season of FX’s “Atlanta.”
All three vastly different characters. All three with a purpose that Withers says helped him develop not only as a performer, but as a human being.
“I’m always trying to understand who I am … I always look to playing characters who will allow me to find different nuances and ways to exist,” he said. “I get to learn something from each of them and take it home with me to become a better Tyriq.”
While playing college football allowed him to find common ground with his “Game” character, rookie NFL player Connor Tubbs, his latest role in “Tell Me Lies” proved to be his most challenging to date.
In the role of “Tim,” Withers portrays a popular college student who engages in a less-than-enthusiastic consensual sexual relationship with one of the lead female characters, Bree.
While Withers was slightly apprehensive about the role, which required nudity and depiction of a graphic sexual encounter, the importance of the subject matter took away any reservations.
“I think that the importance of Tim is that he shows that we as men need to go the extra mile to educate ourselves and understand intimacy, because it is such a delicate experience. I think we need to start educating our sons on what is consent, what is the right way to initiate sex,” said Withers. “Being ignorant and not knowing isn’t enough. Just because you didn’t know doesn’t make it OK.”
“I got my headshots and wholeheartedly committed to it. The rest was history.”
His favorite role however, and the one that he found the most authentic to his own life, was his episode of “Atlanta.” The 24-year-old was unaware of how large the role was until after booking it.
“I looked up my part, thinking it would be a couple of scenes, and then saw that the whole script was focused on Aaron,” he said.
As Aaron, Withers plays a biracial high school student whose identity is called into question when a review board committee determines that he is not “Black enough” to receive a scholarship designed for African American students.
To Withers, who himself has a white mother and Black father, the identity crisis and search for acceptance that his character experiences throughout the episode hit close to home.
“That role was symbolic of what my life really was … I’m not white enough, I’m not Black enough. It took a while for me to really understand to simply be me and sit at the table where I want to sit,” he said. “That episode was a journey and it was really cathartic to play that character, and a little scary too.”
Although he was unable to go into detail about upcoming projects that he has in development, the actor, who is set to receive two master’s degrees in business and marketing from Florida State this December, made it clear that he has no plans to relocate from “Hollywood South” anytime soon.
“The Black culture and creative spaces here are unmatched. You connect with so many Black artists and actors, and you feel alive. Like the work that you are doing is heavy and meaningful,” said Withers. “That’s why I’m here and why I’ll continue to be here. At the end of the day, I’ll always come home to Atlanta.”
He quickly pauses before making an important clarification to his previous quote.
“Jacksonville will always be my city though, remember that.”
