Michael .K. Williams Bio
Michael Williams was an American Actor. He brought his experiences with heroin addiction to his role in The Wire. From 2002 to 2008, the program examined the drug trade from the perspectives of law enforcement, criminals, and those caught in the middle. Williams’ performance in Boardwalk Empire was also praised. He was born on Nov 22, 1966 and passed away on Sep 6, 2021.
Michael .K. Williams Wife
In 2019, it was revealed that Williams is in a relationship with actress Tasha Smith.
Michael .K. Williams Net Worth 2024
Michael Williams had an estimated Net Worth of $5 Million at the time of his death. He had amassed a great fortune from his profession.
What happened to Michael .K. Williams?
Michael K. Williams was sentenced to 30 months in prison for buying a lethal quantity of heroin from the individual who sold it to him. Carlos Macci, 72, allegedly supplied Williams the lethal amount of drugs while running a four-person drug gang out of Brooklyn, according to court filings filed by federal prosecutors. A sentence of at least 48 months was what the prosecution had asked for.
Police said the 54-year-old man was discovered dead in his Brooklyn apartment with drug paraphernalia. In September 2021, he overdosed on drugs and died.
Michael .K. Williams Acting Career
After being spotted by Tupac Shakur, Williams was offered one of his first acting gigs. He played High Top in the 1996 movie “Bullet.” He made several film and television appearances between the middle of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s. Because of the deep scar on his face from a bar brawl in his early 20s in New York City, he typically played thug-type characters. He worked on television shows like “Bringing Out the Dead,” “Law & Order,” and “The Sopranos” in the beginning.
He was cast in the “The Wire” role of Omar Little in 2002, which would lead to the greatest amount of public recognition and critical praise. After just one audition, he was cast. At first, he was informed that Omar would only be appearing in seven episodes throughout the first season. USA Today listed Williams’s portrayal of Omar as one of the top ten reasons people still adore television. Williams received recognition for his distinct interpretation of Omar, which added wit and humor to the sometimes dull world of television crime dramas.
Williams’ portrayal of Omar earned him a nomination in 2007 for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series. Senator Barack Obama, who was then in office, cited “The Wire” as his favorite TV program and Omar as his favorite character in 2008.
Following his six-year, 41-episode run on “The Wire,” Williams landed recurring roles on shows like “Alias,” “Six Degrees,” “CSI,” “Boston Legal,” “The Sopranos,” and “Law & Order.” He had film roles such as “Gone Baby Gone,” “I Think I Love My Wife,” “The Road,” “Life During Wartime,” and scores of others. He’s also appeared in many music videos including for R. Kelly, The Game, Young Jeezy, Trick Daddy, MGMT, Marilyn Manson, and ASAP Rocky.
During the five seasons that HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” ran from 2010 to 2014, Williams portrayed Albert “Chalky” White, the head of the black community in Atlantic City in the 1920s. In three episodes of the third season of the sitcom, he also starred in “Community”. Williams was in negotiations to play the lead role of Django in Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained,” but he was unable to accept the part due to scheduling issues with “Boardwalk Empire.”
Under his firm Freedome Productions, he executive produced the independent film “Snow on the Bluff” in 2012. Based on a trilogy of novels by Joe R. Lansdale, Williams starred in “Hap and Leonard,” a SundanceTV original series, in March 2015. Positive reviews were given to the first season, and the second season debuted in 2017. Williams began working with Vice News in 2016 and hosted the “Black Market” VICELAND program.
Appearing in six episodes of “The Night Of,” he played Freddy Knight in 2016. For his performance, he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Limited Series. Reuniting with the Vice crew in 2018, he was featured in “Raised in the System,” where he detailed his own journey to uncover the causes of the mass imprisonment epidemic in America as well as the juvenile justice system.
2019 saw Williams as Bobby McCray in the highly regarded and award-winning film “When They See Us.” His nomination for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series was extended once more. 2020 saw Williams take up the role of Montrose Freeman in “Lovecraft Country.”
