Michael K. Williams, an actor who was well-known for portraying Omar Little on The Wire at the age of 54, has been found dead.
BuzzFeed News was told by the NYPD that Williams was found Monday afternoon in his Brooklyn apartment. According to the New York Post, he was discovered by a relative.
Williams was most recently seen in Lovecraft Country. He also voiced the voice of F Is for Family, a Netflix animated series. Just days ago, he also revealed that he will be joining the George Foreman biopic as Doc Broadus, the boxer's trainer.
Williams' role as Omar made him a household name, despite his acting roles in many different projects. He is frequently cited as one of TV's greatest characters; even former President Barack Obama agrees.
Essence was told earlier this year that Williams had planned his roles.
Williams stated, "I made a decision early in my career that I will only go for two things when I am asked to do a job. I will seek out the truth and tell it with compassion and empathy."
Multiple Emmy nominations were made for him, including when he appeared in When They See Us on Netflix, which told the story about the Central Park Five. He is up for the Outstanding Supporting actor in a Drama Series Emmy. It will be presented later this month.
His family requested privacy in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter
"The family is deeply saddened to announce the death of Emmy-nominated actor Michael Kenneth Williams. Marianna Shafran, Marianna Shafran's publicist, said to THR that they ask for privacy as they grieve this unsurmountable loss.
Williams was born in Brooklyn and raised there. He started his career as a dancer and then turned to acting. Williams has appeared in music videos and toured with George Michael and Madonna.
Williams was a celebrity for his crime series, but in real life he worked to make his community more safe and less police-oriented. He founded We Build the Block in New York, an organization that organizes community voices on public safety issues.
Williams spoke out about his addiction experience, telling NJ.com that he hopes his honesty will help others who are trying to clean up their lives. Williams said that he struggled with drug addiction while filming The Wire. He also stated that he felt like the lines between him and his character became blurred.
Williams said that Omar was a dark-skinned, outspoken black man from the hood who didn't care what anybody thought about him. He is everything I ever hoped he could be.
