WILLIAM STANFORD DAVIS

William Stanford Davis is the embodiment of never giving up on your dreams because you just never know when t will be your moment He hails from St Lou s, Missouri and has close to 100 credits to his name From recurring roles on hit telev sion shows such as Showtime s Ray Donovan TNT’s Snowpiercer and Lincoln He ghts to recently guest starring on Curb Your Enthusiasm, he has invested his time in the industry However it is his recent role as “Mr Johnson” n the Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe-winning hit tv series Abbot Elementary that people are unilaterally taking notice of his br lliance to the screen

Cox: You have put in the time, and now this is the role where people un versally recogn ze you Tell me what kept you going all these years w thout giving up Davis: I have to say my fa th I felt l ke as long as I did the work, someth ng great would happen I mmersed myself in the craft, and I just tried to stay as positive as I could In this ndustry, you will have some mean and lean times, which can happen multiple times So, n hand with keep ng my faith I constantly surrounded myself with good people Making a point to do this has helped keep my focus on the work and at times, helped me take my focus away to enjoy l fe

Davis (cont n): As a seasoned vet in this industry, acting has been my main focus, as well as wr ting and direct ng but you have to have other interests, of which I have several, to help keep me from staring at the phone look ng (laughs)

Davis: Michael have you heard when people say they just know?

Cox: Yes

Davis: See, I just knew that sooner or later, it was going to be my time So, I kept the faith and kept going

Cox: Was there any particular feeling in knowing your time was com ng now?

Davis: Yes! It was when I had recently done a series of heavily recurr ng roles on several ser es (laughs) where in some of the shows, I was n every ep sode, and in others, was in just a few I knew that my t me was coming I could just feel it

Cox: D d you know after auditioning for Mr Johnson that you would get the role?

Davis: I just told someone the other day that I have developed th s muscle where you just leave the audit on there after you complete t Th s takes actors a wh le to develop but once you get it down it becomes easy For example, let’s say you have three audit ons n a day - by the time you go from the first two, to the last one, you forget about them

Davis (contin): With this particular audit on, we shot t when COVID restrictions were still largely in full effect I honestly forgot about t after we sent it n and it wasn’t unt l weeks later that my w fe who also doubles as a manager, told me I got the job I asked her “what job?”, and she said “the janitor on the show you aud tioned for” Back then, t was under a different name, and wasn t called Abbott Elementary yet

William shared that this is instrumental in anyone s career trajectory n acting Once you work on multiple projects and get consistency going and people start to notice you you build stronger relationships with n the casting community He urges people to hang in there even when they m ght just be securing recurr ng or guest star roles You are here n th s industry for a reason so don’t give up Cox: Now I want to know your origin story What got you into acting?

Dav s: I had always been in the bus ness of entertainment I started out DJing in soc al clubs and other venues at the age of 14 I was even in a pop band that d d well in St Louis It wasn t until I attended this program for three summers consecutively at Webster University that I knew acting was for me During the program, I saw the Negro Ensemble Company perform, and I was completely blown away That’s when I decided this is what I would do for the rest of my life

Cox: What is it about acting and entertainment that you love? Why does it drive you?

Dav s: It’s the craft Acting s all make-believe, and as an actor, you bring a character to l fe It’s the magic in do ng this that I love You get to put your spin on the character Even f another actor has played that same character, you get to make each role your own

Dav s (cont n): t’s also about gett ng to see the role and project blossom nto someth ng great It s like that with Abbott Elementary, where I’m surrounded by a truly stellar cast It’s so much fun, and we just have a great time together I’m constantly amazed by seeing these young actors work Everyone is younger than me (laughs) It s just amazing to see their talent on screen

You don t always get to see it n the moment when you are filming with your costars, but when you go back and look at the episode, you see each member s talent shine through

Dav s (contin): So, back to your original quest on the love I have for the craft comes from seeing all of it come together n the end That’s where the magic happens Cox: Before we end, I would like to ask you what advice you would give to any actor who feels that their moment isn’t happening even though they keep putt ng in the work

Dav s: F rst of all, it’s only about the work It can’t be about getting the job Your drive for work ng n this industry needs to be centered around developing your craft Even if you aren’t working, I tell emerging actors to get in a play or take a class They need to stay work ng on their sk lls regardless I think of actors’ tra ning just l ke athletes – who train all year-round I always say, work on your craft, and the gigs will come