A few years ago, Tyriq Withers was catching passes for Florida State, not memorizing scripts. Today, he’s sharing screens with Marlon Wayans, Freddie Prinze Jr., and Maika Monroe, and critics are calling him one of the most promising new faces in film.
His story is unusual for Hollywood — no child stardom, no acting school, no industry connections. Just a college football player who wandered into an audition almost by accident and never looked back.
Here’s the full story of who Tyriq Withers is, how he got here, and what’s coming next.
Who Is Tyriq Withers?
Tyriq Leshon Withers was born on July 15, 1998, in Jacksonville, Florida. He’s 6 feet 5 inches tall, which tends to be one of the first things people notice about him on screen.
Before any of his film credits, Withers was a Division I athlete. He played wide receiver for the Florida State Seminoles in 2017 while working toward degrees in business and marketing, which he completed in 2020.
Acting wasn’t part of the original plan. It became one almost by chance, and that unlikely path is a big part of what makes his story stand out.
Early Life and Education
Withers grew up in Jacksonville and attended Paxon School for Advanced Studies before heading to Florida State University. Football came first — he grew up playing soccer before switching to football later in high school.
His family includes his parents, Leon Withers Jr. and Kimberly Hart, and his sister, Cayla. He also had an older brother, Kionte, who died in a car accident in 2021, a loss that reportedly influenced how seriously he began pursuing acting soon after.
While at Florida State, Withers joined the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and balanced his academic and athletic commitments — right up until a single audition changed his direction entirely.
The Audition That Started Everything
The story behind Withers’ first acting role has become one of the most repeated details in his interviews, and for good reason — it’s genuinely unplanned.
While still playing football at FSU, he heard that the university’s Black Student Union was holding auditions for a play. Instead of skipping it, he skipped football practice to try out, telling his coach he had “test corrections” to attend to.
He landed the lead role in a student production called I’m Dropping Knowledge, playing a character named Knowledge. He’d never acted before that moment.
That one decision — sneaking away from practice for an audition — ended up redirecting his entire career.
Building a Foundation on Television
After that first taste of performing, Withers started picking up small television roles, slowly building experience:
- Legacies (The CW) — a minor role that gave him his first on-camera credit
- The Game — played Connor Tibbs in a recurring capacity
- Tell Me Lies — appeared as Tim across multiple episodes
- Horror Noire — took on the role of Cornelius in this anthology series
None of these roles made him a star, but they gave him something more valuable early on: consistent, real-world acting experience.
The Atlanta Breakthrough
Withers’ first major spotlight moment came in 2022, when he appeared in the Atlanta episode “Rich Wigga, Poor Wigga,” created by Donald Glover.
He played Aaron, a biracial teenager navigating questions of identity and privilege as he tries to secure a college scholarship. According to Withers, he didn’t even realize he’d be carrying the episode until the script landed in his hands.
The episode tackled race and identity head-on, and Withers’ performance was widely praised for handling that weight without ever feeling heavy-handed. It remains one of the clearest signals that he could do more than supporting work.
Stepping Into Horror: I Know What You Did Last Summer
In 2025, Withers joined the cast of the I Know What You Did Last Summer revival, playing Theodore “Teddy” Spencer, alongside Chase Sui Wonders, Madelyn Cline, and franchise veteran Freddie Prinze Jr.
Withers has described Teddy as an outwardly energetic character who’s actually masking a strained relationship with his parents — “a sad boy who wasn’t taught how to deal with his emotions,” as he put it in one interview.
Despite the film’s dark subject matter, Withers has said the set itself felt more like a tight-knit family than a horror production, crediting the cast’s off-camera bond for making the experience genuinely enjoyable.
Him: The Role That Made Him a Leading Man
If one project defined Withers’ breakout year, it’s Him — a psychological sports-horror film directed by Justin Tipping and produced by Jordan Peele.
Withers plays Cameron “Cam” Cade, a football prodigy who goes to extreme lengths to prove himself to a legendary quarterback, played by Marlon Wayans. It’s Withers’ first true leading role, and it leans directly into his athletic background.
A few details that make the role especially fitting:
- Withers trained six days a week physically for the part
- He also completed a three-day-a-week quarterback training seminar with a former NFL player
- His real football experience at Florida State gave him a natural head start most actors wouldn’t have
He’s spoken about the physically demanding fight scenes with Wayans, including one that took three days to film, describing the experience as surprisingly “wholesome” despite how intense it looked on screen.
His performance in Him earned him nominations at both the Black Reel Awards and the NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Breakthrough Performance.
Reminders of Him: A Different Kind of Role
In 2026, Withers took on a completely different type of project: Reminders of Him, a romantic drama based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel of the same name.
Directed by Vanessa Caswill, the film stars Maika Monroe as Kenna Rowan, a woman released from prison after a fatal car accident who returns home hoping to reconnect with the daughter she’s never known. Withers plays Ledger Ward, a former NFL player and bar owner who becomes an unexpected source of compassion in Kenna’s life.
The film also features Rudy Pankow, Lainey Wilson, Lauren Graham, and Bradley Whitford, and was released by Universal Pictures in March 2026.
After two intense genre roles, Reminders of Him gave Withers a chance to show a softer, more emotionally grounded side — proof that he isn’t interested in being typecast.
Tyriq Withers Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Legacies | Wolf Tour Student | TV Series |
| 2021 | Horror Noire | Cornelius | TV Anthology |
| 2021–2022 | The Game | Connor Tibbs | TV Series |
| 2022 | Atlanta | Aaron | Breakout episode |
| 2022 | Senior Year | Basketball Bro | Uncredited |
| 2022 | Tell Me Lies | Tim | TV Series |
| 2024 | Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead | Rock | Film |
| 2024 | Me | Yates Skurk | Film |
| 2025 | I Know What You Did Last Summer | Teddy Spencer | Film |
| 2025 | Him | Cameron “Cam” Cade | Lead role |
| 2026 | Reminders of Him | Ledger Ward | Film |
Why Tyriq Withers Stands Out
Several things separate Withers from the typical “next big thing” narrative:
- His path is unconventional. Very few leading actors arrive by way of college football and a spur-of-the-moment audition.
- His authenticity is hard to fake. In Him, his football background isn’t a costume — it’s lived experience.
- He’s genre-flexible. Horror, drama, romance, and satire are all already on his résumé, and he’s still early in his career.
- He talks openly about identity. Withers has spoken candidly about growing up navigating a mixed-race identity, which shapes how he approaches roles like Aaron in Atlanta.
FAQs About Tyriq Withers
How old is Tyriq Withers?
He was born on July 15, 1998, in Jacksonville, Florida, making him in his late twenties as of 2026.
Did Tyriq Withers really play football?
Yes. He played wide receiver for the Florida State Seminoles in 2017 while earning his business and marketing degree, which he completed in 2020.
How did Tyriq Withers get into acting?
He auditioned for a Florida State Black Student Union play almost on a whim, skipping football practice to try out. It was his first time acting, and it changed the direction of his career.
What is Tyriq Withers’ most famous role?
His performance as Cameron “Cam” Cade in Him (2025) is widely considered his breakout leading role, earning him award nominations from the Black Reel Awards and NAACP Image Awards.
Is Tyriq Withers in Reminders of Him?
Yes. He plays Ledger Ward opposite Maika Monroe in the 2026 Universal Pictures adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel.
How tall is Tyriq Withers?
He stands 6 feet 5 inches tall (1.96 m), a detail that’s frequently mentioned given how much it stands out on screen.
Final Thoughts
Tyriq Withers’ rise wasn’t scripted, planned, or predictable — and that’s exactly what makes it interesting. A college wide receiver who skipped practice for a student play has turned into one of the more talked-about young actors working today.
Between Atlanta, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Him, and Reminders of Him, Withers has already shown he can move between genres without losing what makes him watchable. If his trajectory continues, this is likely just the start of a much longer run in Hollywood.
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