Emmy-Winning Actor Tyler James Williams On Growing His Green Thumb Beyond ‘Abbott Elementary’

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Onscreen, Tyler James Williams is used to getting his hands dirty as Abbott Elementary‘s Eddie, the first-grade teacher who embraces his green thumb. Offscreen, the Emmy-winning actor is “imitating art” and partnering with Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day to launch its Lots of Compassion program on National Garden Day (April 14).

Part of Williams’ new role? Helping to grow vacant lots in underserved communities into blooming gardens. He began by digging into Third Street Elementary’s soil and — in the words of Gregory in season two — “experiencing what they call ‘Black boy joy’” through gardening. The home cleaning products company is teaming with Kids Gardening to identify local community leaders to receive $20,000 grants towards transforming vacant lots into green spaces.

“Is it art imitating life, or life imitating art? I think so much of the research, for Abbott Elementary and Gregory specifically is the interaction of real people in these scenarios, real teachers and their students,” Williams tells The Hollywood Reporter. “They were telling me about their little garden at Third Street and they have a stevia plant and they’ll pick them. I just realized it was a really sweet plant like that.

I saw the kids [and how gardening] change the way they looked at the world, changed how they saw their independence and what they were capable of with their little tiny hands. People are actively influencing the next generation and how they are going to see the world. Gregory has to be aware of that.”

Raised in Yonkers, New York (reportedly the 18th happiest city in the U.S. in 2023, according to WalletHub) says he “remembered how depressing” it was seeing empty dirt patches.

“Yeah, so when I grew up there was a huge turnover to what it is now. It’s beautiful [now] — it definitely wasn’t that [back then],” he recounts. “I remember walking past these vacant and abandoned spaces and not really thinking much of it. Then you go deeper into Westchester County and you saw how every space was being utilized. … I didn’t realize how it affected my or anybody around me’s mental health. Mrs. Meyer’s actually gave me these figures: 15 percent of the U.S. is deemed vacant and abandoned. It’s about the size of Switzerland.”

Being approached by the home cleaning brand “immediately made sense. It feels like something that was universally serendipitous. I asked, ‘What can I do to help?’ and they said, ‘Can you help spread the word?’”

As part of the initiative, the company teamed with horticulturalists to create a pansy-viola hybrid flower called the Compassion Flower. It’s the inspiration behind their newest line of products ($5 to $19) that benefit Lots of Compassion, which will receive $1 from every item purchased from MrsMeyers.com and Grove.co. The range includes hand and dish soap, a multi-surface cleaner, a room freshener and a soy candle, and the brand will donate $200 annually (or $1 million over the next five years) to the nonprofit.

“It brings to light [how Lots of Compassion] trying to build up these little quaint garden spaces. We just don’t hear about it as much. They need the money, and [for Mrs. Meyer’s] to take a dollar and further that up to $1 million is a long way. I’m really proud to help push that for this reason.”

Abbott Elementary‘s resident secret gardener has also inspired the real-life cast and crew. “On the Warner Bros. lot, there’s a garden where we put our show’s garden. [They figured], why would we just leave this as an unused patch of dirt? Randall Einhorn, our executive producer and director, has been actually maintaining the garden every day and we’re getting vegetables from there. We watch people pick things from it and it’s really cute. Randall’s got some really, really great tomatoes!”

As for his own green thumb, “I’m just getting started. I have one of those Click & Grow gardens you put some stuff in there, some basil and tomatoes, some rosemary. I was able to use the basil in my actual meal, I thought I was being so successful as the original version of humans who had to do that since the beginning of society,” he joked.

Below, shop the Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day limited-edition Compassion Flower products.