If Olympic gold medalist and Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards convinced you to buy some Adidas apparel after watching one of its latest commercials titled “Buzzer Beater With Anthony Edwards,” make sure to thank Seaforth High School junior Noah Williams, too.
Williams, a receiver and defensive back for the Seaforth football team, portrayed the protagonist in the recent Adidas ad featuring Edwards.
In the commercial, Williams handles the basketball as his team trails by two with just 14 seconds left in the game. While looking for someone to pass to, the chaos of the game stops and everyone else disappears except Williams and Edwards, who stands next to an office trash can under the rim. Edwards walks past Williams, tosses him a balled up piece of paper and says, “It’s only a shot. Just throw it away,” just before Williams’ shot at the trash can transitions into a buzzer beater to win the actual game.
As he became a star in a make-believe universe, Williams became “Hollywood” in real life.
“I think everyone was mostly just kind of surprised because it was kind of like, ‘What the heck? Who is this guy? What do you mean you’re in a commercial?’” Williams said about his teammates’ reaction to the ad. “They’re all really excited and supportive. I got a lot of nicknames for it. They’re calling me ‘Hollywood.’”
Leading up to the ad’s release, Williams, or “Hollywood,” couldn’t tell anyone what he was up to partly due to the fact that he wasn’t allowed to and partly due to his humility in regard to his accomplishments. Williams’ agent found Adidas’ open casting call for the commercial, and after multiple rounds of auditions, he landed the role in July. However, the opportunity to be seen by millions of TV viewers alongside one of the NBA’s biggest stars actually started becoming reality years before then.
Williams began his acting journey about four years ago, following the footsteps of his younger brother, Andrew, who has been in multiple TV shows, including “Doc McStuffins.”
“I think I got into it in about 2020,” Williams said. “My brother actually got the opportunity to audition for an acting agency, and he ended up getting it. They were looking for siblings to join them as well, and I just happened to be his brother. So, they ended up signing me and my sister as well.”
Since starting his acting career, Williams has been seen modeling for soccer.com, and in 2022, he filmed an unused scene for “Creed III” portraying a young Adonis Creed.
Williams said actor Michael B. Jordan, who portrays Adonis Creed in the “Creed” movie series, was the biggest name he’s worked with, but while filming the Adidas commercial in Atlanta, Edwards also had him in awe.
“When he first walked in, I couldn’t even believe my eyes,” Williams said. “I thought I was dreaming for a second. It took me a few days after that to process what happened, but I think the biggest thing is realizing that he’s actually just a normal person.”
Said Williams, “He was really cool, really youthful, and he had a lot of energy.”
Williams said he talked to Edwards about his viral dunk over the Utah Jazz’s John Collins during the 2023-24 NBA season, and Edwards also shared a piece of advice.
“He was saying whatever you want to do, not even basketball specific but just in life, just stay consistent at it, keep doing it over and over again, and you’re bound to succeed,” Williams said.
For Williams, that message is fitting, considering he hopes to do more in his young acting career.
“I’d love to continue pursuing this,” Williams said. “I feel like it kind of popped up out of nowhere. It’s kind of one of those things you always would like to do, but it’s difficult to get into. So, when I got the opportunity to do it, it was really special. I’d like to just take this as far as I can and maybe star in some movies someday or be in more TV shows and commercials.”