Interview: William Stanford Davis Has the Accelerator On as Mr. Johnson on ‘Abbott Elementary’

William Stanford Davis has been consistently stealing scenes on ABC’s hit series Abbott Elementary for five seasons now as Mr. Johnson, the school’s mysterious janitor.

“Mr. Johnson thinks that he is the smartest person at that school,” Davis says, encapsulating the character simply.

Davis initially started as a guest star on the series, popping in from time to time to deliver a gut-busting quip before carrying on with his job.

“You give it your best shot,” he says about starting Abbott. “That’s kind of how it happened for me. I came in and they cut a lot of the stuff in the pilot that this guy was supposed to do, especially a lot of the scenes with Mr. Johnson and Ava (Janelle James). You give it your best shot. They kept, I think, what was the most powerful. That kind of gave me a bit of a roadmap on…let’s drive the car this way and see how far we can drive it until they say, ‘Okay, put the brakes on.'”

Audiences embraced Davis’ “driving” early on, propelling Mr. Johnson to fan favorite status. Davis was soon promoted to series regular status, allowing him to flex his comedic muscles and continue to build Mr. Johnson into the iconic character he’s become.

“…[A]s an actor, I cut my teeth on episodic drama for a long time and [Abbott Elementary] just gave me the chance to really work this muscle and really not cower away from it,” Davis says. “Just really, until they tell you stop, until they tell you we don’t want anymore, just keep driving the car. I’ve been lucky that the writers, the executive producers, everyone is like, ‘Yeah, man, just put the accelerator on and we’ll tell you when to stop.’ I talk about taking risks when I’ve talked to young actors and it’s really taught me how to take more risks, I think, as an actor also.”

Davis completely sells Mr. Johnson as a character, from his ever-expanding lore to his out-of-pocket observations. There’s a dryness uplifted by a broad sensibility that keeps the audience on their toes. Davis never allow you know what he’ll say next or how he’ll deliver it. But the magic of Davis’ work stems from his intention and precision as a performer.

“…[T]hey drop these one-liners sometimes, and you got to make them lunch, or a whole meal out of them,” he says. “You got to really, okay, either through an expression or an attitude, or something that’s honest, of course, but it depends on who I’m dealing with. If I’m dealing with Jacob (Chris Perfetti), that’s one relationship. If I’m dealing with Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph), who I have a lot of respect for, even though, you know, I would stand up to her, you know, but she’s more adversarial to me than anyone else. So each character I deal with in a different way. I love this whole thing they have about Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) and myself, where they think Mr. Johnson is always trying to hit on her…. And I love that because, you know, Lisa and I, you know, she’s, Lisa’s so funny. Yeah. I just love working with them all. So it’s a different relationship every time.”

Davis brilliantly breathes intricate and interesting life into Mr. Johnson. Though we can’t fully grasp him (nor would he let us), Mr. Johnson remains entertaining and dynamic because of Davis’ thought and care as a comedic performer.

Watch William Stanford Davis on Abbott Elementary. You can watch the entirety of Abbott Elementary Season 5 on Hulu now. Be sure to check out our full interview with William below!