He received his first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie for HBO's Bessie (2015) and subsequently received his second nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for his portrayal of Freddy in HBO's The Night Of (2016). In 2012, "Boardwalk Empire" won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Williams also co-starred in HBO's critically acclaimed series Boardwalk Empire (2010), in which he played Chalky White, a 1920s bootlegger and the impeccably suited, veritable mayor of Atlantic City's African American community. The wit and humor that Williams brought to Omar, the whistle-happy, profanity-averse, openly gay drug dealer-robbing stickup man, earned him high praise, and made Omar one of television's most memorable characters. Born in 1966 in Brooklyn, Williams was best known for his remarkable work on The Wire (2002). By bringing complicated and charismatic characters to life-often with surprising tenderness-Williams established himself as a gifted and versatile performer with a unique ability to mesmerize audiences with his stunning character portrayals. And today those words won’t come.Emmy-nominated actor and producer Michael Kenneth Williams was one of his generation's most respected and acclaimed talents. Michael was a fine man and a rare talent and on our journey together he always deserved the best words. “An immensely talented man with the ability to give voice to the human condition portraying the lives of those whose humanity is seldom elevated until he sings their truth.”ĭavid Simon, who created the show and Williams' character, said on Twitter that he was “Too gutted right now to say all that ought to be said. “The depth of my love for this brother, can only be matched by the depth of my pain learning of his loss,” Wendell Pierce, who played Detective William “Bunk” Moreland and had many memorable scenes with Williams, said on Twitter. His “Wire” co-stars, and many others, paid him tribute after his passing. “I could never be Omar,” he told Colbert with a laugh. Instantly recognizable with a distinctive scar that ran the length of his face, Williams said most people who saw him on the street called him “Omar,” but he never really resembled the character. Williams appeared in all five seasons of “The Wire” from 2002 to 2008, his character growing in prominence with each season. The character also broke TV ground as an openly gay man whose sexuality wasn't central to his role. With smoke from his cigarette often wafting through the darkness, the character would whistle the melody known to American children as “The Farmer in the Dell" and British children as “A Hunting We Will Go” to ominously announce his arrival.Īnd he spoke many of the show's most memorable lines, including, “a man gotta have a code" and “all in the game yo, all in the game.” So all of a sudden, I’m like, Omar, yo, I’m getting respect from people who probably would have took my lunch money as a kid.” “I had very low self-esteem growing up, a high need to be accepted, a corny kid from the projects. “The character of Omar thrust me into the limelight,” he told Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show” in 2016. Williams, who had worked in tiny TV roles and as a backup dancer for hip-hop acts before landing the role, had said that reputation started to stick to him in real life. Daniel Penny Breaks Silence, Says Jordan Neely Killing ‘Had Nothing to Do With Race'
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