During his long journey to becoming the Trai Byers of today, Byers overcame many roadblocks. At a young age, Byers felt ready and eager to move straight to Hollywood and try to make it big, but ended up attending a two-year college. Two years turned into ten when Byers moved on to earn his B.S. in Theatre at the University of Kansas in Lawrence and an M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama in 2011. Byers landed his first leading roles in independent films such as Jayhawkers and Americons. While in a time of questioning if the film career was right for him, Byers auditioned for Empire. Once he received the role of Andre Lyon, and his role of James Forman in Selma shortly after, Byers’ life changed forever.

Byers is dedicated to philanthropy, as seen through his volunteerism as a Big Brother at The Boys and Girls Club of America and advocacy for anti-violence through groups like “I Am Just Like U.” Trai speaks passionately on the topics that led his life in the right direction, such as education, entertainment and Christianity.

Byers recently married his Empire co-star and speaker, Grace Gealey, and splits his time between Los Angeles and Chicago. Read Less ^