Meet Hollywood’s most exciting new face

There are stars, and then there are forces of nature. Tyriq Withers—Jacksonville-born and entirely self-made—is undeniably the latter. The 27-year-old actor first turned heads in 2022 with his breakout role in Donald Glover’s celebrated FX series Atlanta, earning instant acclaim in the now-iconic episode “Rich Wigga, Poor Wigga.” But that was just the overture.

A former college wide receiver who pivoted from football fields to film sets, Withers possesses the rare dual currency of athleticism and emotional intelligence. This combination translates into performances that are as magnetic as they are deeply felt. 

From scream king to romantic lead, Withers has already proven he cannot be boxed in— nd with a slate of films and TV shows that reads like a studio executive’s dream, he is only just getting started. Consider this your introduction to the name you’ll be saying on repeat.

From TV to the big screen, here’s every Tyriq Withers’ role you need to know:

Reminders of Him

Another, heart-wrenching Colleen Hoover books is hitting the big screen, and we can’t wait to see how this plays out. In Reminders of Him, Kenna Rowan returns back to town after serving a five-year prison sentence for her boyfriend’s accidental death. Trying to piece her life back together, her primary goal is to reunite with the daughter she was forced to leave behind. But, everyone from her past refuses to give her a chance—everyone except her late boyfriend’s best friend, a bartender who finds himself unable to shut Kenna out, Ledger—aka Tyriq Withers.

Him

In this psychological thriller film, Tyriq Withers plays the role of Cameron Cade, a young athlete who suffers from an injury after being attacked by a fan. But when he receives a call from his hero, Isaiah White, things start looking more hopeful. Isaiah offers to train him on an isolated compound, but dark, sinister things start happening, and he must decide whether he’ll sacrifice everything to be the “Goat” in football.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 

When a single reckless night ends in tragedy—a fatal car accident swept under—five friends think they’ve buried the truth along with their guilt. But secrets have a way of surfacing. A year later, an ominous message arrives and a hooded figure with a hook begins closing in, dismantling their carefully constructed lies one by one. Desperate and out of options, they’re forced to turn to the only people who’ve survived this kind of nightmare before: the legendary Ray Bronson and Julie James, haunted veterans of Southport’s infamous 1997 massacre. Tyriq Withers steps into the role of Teddy Spencer— Danica’s wealthy ex-fiancé—a man whose bad choices set the entire chaos in motion.

Tell Me Lies

Set in Baird College in upstate New York, the series—created by Meaghan Oppenheimer and based on Carola Lovering’s addictive 2018 novel—chronicles the slow-burning, deeply toxic romance between Lucy Albright and Stephen DeMarco, unraveling across eight years of lies, obsession, and emotional wreckage. Tyriq Withers plays Tim, a recurring figure in the show’s inner social circle whose storyline dares to go somewhere most TV dramas won’t—challenging conventional notions of masculinity, consent, and what it truly means to be a good man.

Me

The show follows Ben, a young boy navigating the chaos of adolescence while grappling with shape-shifting abilities that are as uncontrollable as they are awe-inspiring. Tyriq Withers plays Yates Skurk, the show’s villain—a menacing figure driven entirely by a thirst for revenge

Atlanta

Atlanta is Donald Glover’s genre-defying love letter to Black life in America, and the series that introduced the world to Tyriq Withers in the most unforgettable way imaginable. Shot entirely in black and white, the episode “Rich Wigga, Poor Wigga” centres on Aaron—a biracial high school student whose identity, ambition, and sense of self are thrown into complete disarray when a wealthy donor announces he will fund every Black senior’s college tuition, leaving Aaron to confront exactly where he stands in a world that insists on defining him.