Michael K. Williams

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Michael K. Williams (2012)

Michael Kenneth Williams (born November 22, 1966 in Brooklyn , New York City , † September 6, 2021 ) was an American actor .

Life

Williams grew up in Brooklyn's East Flatbush neighborhood. His mother was from the Bahamas and worked as a seamstress. The parents separated during Williams' childhood. He got his distinctive scar on his face on his 25th birthday. During a fight in a bar in Queens , his face was slit open by an opponent with a razor blade. After the injury healed, the scar remained, and Williams was hired for several music videos, including George Michael , Madonna, and Crystal Waters, because of his looks . Tupac Shakurhired Williams because of his striking looks for the role of his character's brother in Bullet . Three years later he played in bringing out the Dead - Nights of Remembrance of Martin Scorsese a drug dealer. He became known to a larger audience for his role as the homosexual street gangster Omar Little in the hit HBO series The Wire and as the alcohol smuggler Chalky White in Boardwalk Empire (also HBO). Critics hailed him as the embodiment of an antihero and he was nominated five times for Emmy , the most recent being in 2021 for his role in the series Lovecraft Country .

Away from the camera, he struggled with a drug addiction . In an interview in 2012, he stated that he had spent most of his fee for The Wire on drugs. It was only with the support of his church in Newark that he was able to see the filming through to the end. An encounter with Barack Obama during his presidential campaign in 2008 motivated Williams to continue his film career. The future president had told him that he considered The Wire to be the best television series and that Omar Little was his favorite character.

In 2018 he was appointed to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , which awards the Oscars every year.

On the afternoon of September 6, 2021, Williams was found dead in his New York apartment. According to the authorities, he died of a heroin overdose . According to a statement from the responsible investigators, third-party negligence in his death can be ruled out.

Filmography (selection)

Movies

TV Shows

Video games

Web links

Commons : Michael K. Williams  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Julia Jacobs, Annie Correal, Matthew Haag, Jeremy Egner: Michael K. Williams, Omar From 'The Wire,' Is Dead at 54. In: The New York Times . September 6, 2021, accessed September 7, 2021 .
  2. ↑ Alex Altman: Q&A: Wire Actor Michael Kenneth Williams. In: Time . November 25, 2009, accessed September 7, 2021 .
  3. ↑ ACADEMY INVITES 928 TO MEMBERSHIP. In: oscars.org. June 25, 2018, accessed September 7, 2021 .
  4. ↑ Larry Celona, ​​Tina Moore: 'The Wire' actor Michael K. Williams found dead in NYC apartment. In: New York Post . September 6, 2021, accessed September 6, 2021 .
  5. ^ "The Wire" actor Michael K. Williams found dead. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. September 7, 2021, accessed September 7, 2021 .
personal data
SURNAME Williams, Michael K.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Williams, Michael Kenneth (full name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION US-American actor
BIRTH DATE November 22, 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn , New York City , United States
DATE OF DEATH September 6, 2021
PLACE OF DEATH Brooklyn , New York City