Roland Edward Williams Jr was born on March 9, 1985 in Galesburg, IL. He is the oldest of two children. After graduating from high school in 2003, Roland entertained the idea of continuing his educati ...Show More
Roland Edward Williams Jr was born on March 9, 1985 in Galesburg, IL. He is the oldest of two children. After graduating from high school in 2003, Roland entertained the idea of continuing his education, but decided to take a year off. During that year off, he heard an ad on the radio, which advertised an opportunity to possibly be signed with an agent. He found himself at a ProScout convention in Minneapolis, MN, in front of 50+ agencies from around the world. At that time no one signed him, so instead of giving up, he waited to be invited to the ProScout convention in Chicago, IL, closer to where he lived, which took place a few months later. The Chicago event arrived, he attended and again found himself agent-less. He questioned whether or not he should continue to pursue his dream. A full year had passed and he decided to give it one more try. Third time was the charm. He found himself having to decide between two agencies. He chose the agency that was closest to where he lived, Babe's N Beaus in Hinsdale, IL. Two years after going on auditions, he landed his first major job, a national print job for Finish Line, a sports apparel clothing store. Throughout the years, he has modeled for major companies such as Groupon, Motorola, Samsung, Walgreens, Sears, Adidas, Wrangler Jeans, Kohler, Catamaran, Jarden, Medline, etc. His biggest print ad achievement was in 2016 for McDonalds , where he appeared on Digital Menus, Apps, and even Tray Liners in over 13,000 McDonald locations nationwide. In between print jobs and auditions, Roland found himself on TV and Movie sets as a background artist. Appearing in the background of network shows such as Chicago P.D., Chicago Med, Shameless, Sirens, Mob Doctor, Empire, Crisis and Chicago Fire and movies like the #1 Summer Comedy Blockbuster 'The Boss' alongside Melissa McCarthy. In 2019, he was offered a supporting role in a Short Film, An Hour & 20, where he played the Main Usher also known as Yeshua, which earned him his first acting credit. Four days after the private screening of the short film, he found himself back in the audition room, this time for a speaking part in Chicago Fire. He landed the role of Nick in Chicago Fire, Season 8, Episode 15, delivering two lines and one word in a very intense, suspenseful scene, earning him his second acting credit in less than 3 months. Throughout his career, Roland has been represented by seven different model/talent agencies in the Chicagoland area. He continues to work on his craft when he's not auditioning and booking jobs. Hide
