If you're struggling with imposter syndrome, you're not alone.
Jesse Williams exited ABC's Grey's Anatomy in 2021 after playing Jackson Avery for 12 years. His departure from the medical drama was met with sadness from fans who fell in love with the brooding, often shirtless doctor.
But it was a necessary change for Jesse, who tells the New York Times that he felt "increasingly safe, protected, insulated" on the Shonda Rhimes series.
"I knew that as I designed my exit, the next thing I did had to be terrifying," he explained. "I needed to get out of my comfort zone, I needed to go into a very unknown place."
He found that challenge in the upcoming Broadway revival of Take Me Out, a Tony winner about a baseball player who comes out of the closet. The play is a whole new ball game in comparison to Grey's, in which he says he was "not even wearing pants in half of those scenes."
Even though everyone agrees that a semi-nude Jesse Williams works in all mediums—Shonda said, "We felt that having a shirtless Jackson Avery would be a benefit to society"—current Grey's showrunner Krista Vernoff looked beyond his appearances, crediting the star for his determination to improve his craft. "He was always watching everybody's artistry," she recalled, "and learning from it."
And Krista wasn't the only one to take notice of his efforts. His co-star Sarah Drew, who played his on-screen love interest, shared, "There's nobody that worked as hard as he did. Nobody."
Jesse insists that he had no choice but to observe others, reminding the NYT, "I'm not really an actor... I didn't go to acting school."
Sure, he may have starred in a hit TV show, but the actor doesn't think that alone is enough to warrant a lead role on Broadway. "The last thing I want is to be the shiny rich TV guy that thinks he can just show up and do something," he continued, "because that's just absolutely not how I feel."
Even so, his Take Me Out co-stars said that they don't think Jesse is lacking experience or know-how. Suits' Patrick J. Adams remarked, "He's just taking it in kind of instantly, almost frustratingly, to be perfectly honest."
Which is great news for the actor, considering his future career goals. "I'm here to do things I've never done before," Jesse said. "I have got one life, as far as I know. It'll be fine."