How Becoming A Beloved ‘Abbott Elementary’ Janitor Changed This Actor’s Life

Mr. Johnson is a fan favorite on “Abbott Elementary” for good reason.

“Trash,” he often says in the Emmy-winning network television show. As the school’s janitor and its mysterious sage, that one word holds double meaning. Yes, he keeps the halls and classrooms of the underfunded Philadelphia elementary school clean, but he also deems the things, places and ideas not worth holding onto as disposable. There’s a message in there.

William Stanford Davis, affectionately known as Stan, has been acting for 40 years. With an NAACP Image Award and more than 100 credits under his belt — “The Bold And The Beautiful,” “Ray Donovan,” “Sister, Sister” and much more — the 73-year-old actor summed up his career in one word during an interview: “Blessed.”

But “Abbott Elementary,” currently in its fourth season, is different from his other acting jobs. It’s the first time Davis has played a recurring main character on a television series.

“I had a decent journey along the way in terms of work, but nothing has moved the needle or changed my life like ‘Abbott,’” he said.

Snug in a green cashmere sweater and diamonds the size of molars in his ears, Davis is sharp and warm-natured. Speaking to Davis feels like you’re in conversation with his character. Like Mr. Johnson, he tells just a few stories from the many lives he’s lived. He’s driven Sidney Poitier as a chauffeur, hosted both R&B and country radio stations as a DJ, sold ads at a newspaper and worked as a cook at a truck stop.

And with every story, Davis seamlessly plugs a gem of a life lesson into the conversation. He knew he didn’t want to cook or drive a limo or work at a newspaper forever. When he saw the Negro Ensemble Company, a Black theater troupe, perform as a child, he knew he wanted to act and that everything else was just a pitstop on that journey.

“I [didn’t] know how to get there. I [didn’t] know where an acting class is, but this is what I want to do,” he said. “This is where I want to spend the rest of my life.”

His “Abbott Elementary” character holds a different kind of weight for him. Mr. Johnson represents career perseverance for Davis. He’s currently nominated for another NAACP Image Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Through “Abbott,” Davis is living a dream 40 years into his career.

“The writers have recognized me, Stan, and they recognize how important and funny [Mr. Johnson] is, and they try to give him as much as the show will allow,” he said. “It’s been incredible.”

Davis spoke to HuffPost about his Hollywood journey, the allure of Mr. Johnson and career conversations with Quinta Brunson.

There aren’t many actors who can say that they have the amount of work on their resume as you do, yet four decades into your career, you’ve had this breakthrough on “Abbott Elementary.” How does this moment feel for you right now?

It’s been an incredible journey, but nothing has moved the needle or changed my life like “Abbott.” The show means so much to so many people. So when I’m out in public, people would tell me how much they love the show and how much the show has meant to them. And there’s no feeling like that.

What life was like for you immediately before ‘Abbott’? You auditioned during COVID, right?

Yeah, it was tough. It was a Zoom audition and as an actor, you train yourself to kind of leave it there. When my manager told me, “You booked the job.” I’m like, “What job?” She said, “The job about the school.” Like, “What school?” And so that’s how it happened. I ended up going to wardrobe fitting. They said, the director’s on the phone, he wants to see you dance with a broom. So they bought a broom, and I danced with it. They said, “See you on the set.” And that was it.

And that was kind of the beginning of the journey. And I still thought it was just going to be maybe a day or two. And when, you know, we did the pilot, and we saw the pilot, the trailers for the pilot, and just, oh my God, there’s something special about it. We knew in the writing, something special about it. But this was like an “oh my God” moment when we saw the trailer, and it just kind of happened from there. And they kept bringing the old man back.

What has playing Mr. Johnson meant for you, especially with respect to your entire career’s trajectory?

I think the most important thing to me about the show is the fact that it brings so much joy to people globally. And the subject matter of the show — because it shines a light on the needs that we [have] here in America, a school system that supports everyone. I think that resonates with just about everyone, because everyone has had to go to school. Everyone has had a teacher or or even a custodian, or someone in the school system. Teachers change and save lives. And that’s what the show shines a light on. And I think because they change and save lives, they need to be paid like doctors who change and save lives.

Absolutely. Who was that teacher for you growing up?

My third grade teacher was my aunt. She’s my mother’s sister, and she didn’t play. She’s like, “Look, you’re not going to get a free ride. I expect everything to be in on time.”

I had other teachers, too. In high school, I was not the greatest student. I got kicked out several times. But the last time, when it was kind of a no-hope situation, they sent me to a school we used to call “Opportunity” or “Op” because this was your last opportunity to get a diploma. It really changed my life.

A guy named Mr. Mayor recognized something in me, and he put me in this program called Upward Bound. I saw the Negro Ensemble Company and there saw so many African American people on stage doing this incredible work. And I said, that’s what I want to do. And that changed my life. Teachers are like angels. Angels show up when you need them. And this guy was an angel. He showed up when I needed them, because I could have made a left turn instead of right turn. My life would have been totally different.

There were so many obstacles in the journey, though, right? I know you auditioned for “Friends” and thought you did a good job until your agent said that they thought you sucked and should quit acting. But why didn’t you quit along the way?

I felt like that was a great turning point, because when the casting director came to my agent, and my agent said that, he didn’t say it to me. He said it to a friend of mine, and I happen to be eavesdropping over the phone — and he shouldn’t have been telling this other actor my business anyway, but agents do that kind of stuff. Three months later, they dropped me, and I said, “No one will ever drop me and no one will ever say that about my work again.”

So I got into classes with actors whose work I looked up to, who did better work than me, to make me a better actor. I got in a class that sometimes I didn’t have enough money [for], but I would just sneak in the class and sit in the back, and hopefully the teacher wouldn’t notice me, but of course she would, and she would let me get on stage anyway. She recognized what it was that she thought that I had. And there were times when she grabbed me by the collar, said, “I expect great things from you.” And that just kept me motivated. And once again, she was like an angel, too.

We see you here at 73, thriving in your career. It’s a reminder that your prime doesn’t have to stop in your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s.

Sheryl [Lee Ralph] said it best. She said, “It may not happen in your 20s. It may not happen in your 30s. It may not happen in your 40s, your 50s and your 60s. But the only way it doesn’t happen is if you quit.” So rule No. 1 is, don’t quit. Rule No. 2 is, never forget rule No. 1. And that’s kind of been the way that I’ve tried to live my life.

You’ve given Quinta Brunson credit for changing your life. What are career conversations like between you two?

[Quinta] is a boss. She talks about, if “Abbott” hadn’t made it, then she might have thrown in the towel, but she didn’t. And I’m glad that she didn’t. To have someone who has recognized me and has made the world know who this guy is — I cannot repay that. She’s changed all of our lives, but, and I don’t mean in terms of anything other than what we do on stage and what we bring from the page to the people. She’s made sure that we try to bring the best product we possibly can. And she insists upon that.

We’ve been in scenes where there might be a misspelled word, or someone was in a hurry, putting it up on the board, and she’ll stop in the middle scene: “Cut, let’s change that.” Or it may have just been something that she didn’t like. Let’s put more smudges on the wall, or whatever, you know, you know, that’s too clean, or whatever. She is that detailed about it, and she’s that detailed about us and the kids.

There’s something so special to me about the way that Mr. Johnson is written. It reminds people of the dignity in this janitorial and servicework. But there was a time when Black people would get typecast in these roles and they’d be written in a two-dimensional way. What does it mean for you, especially as you reflect on the changes that you’ve seen among four decades in this career, to be able to play this character in this way?

As an actor, our duty is to play everything that a human being can be. For a long time, we were stuck in just certain roles, and that’s because the powers that be at that time only saw us in a certain way. We have the Blaxploitation movement that kind of changed Black people’s power in television and film. [There were] more decisionmakers who can hire and fire, or people who are writers. And the biggest part of it is that we were box office [hits]. And that’s what has changed, that they’ve seen that. People love these stories, these characters, and they want to see more of it.

As a Black person in this business, we’ve kicked doors down for those to come after us. But it took a Harry Belafonte or Sidney Poitier to open those doors to show them that we’re not just janitors or housekeepers, that we can play everything that a human being can play. And that opened the door for Denzel [Washington] or for Morgan Freeman, or you name it. And those guys open doors for Stan Davis, and it’s my duty to open doors for others.

I know you have a few things lined up, but I specifically want to talk about the project you have with Wanda Sykes. Can you tease a little bit about that?

Yes, I’ll say this much. Wanda ain’t funny in this. This is no comedy. When people see it, they’re gonna go, “Oh my God.” She plays this ex-boxer who’s abandoned her son and her son comes back into her life and it’s a tough little road. But that’s all I’m going to say, because I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say. But she is incredible in this and I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised about the work that she’s doing, and I’m just so honored and blessed to be in it with her.