On-screen, Michael K. Williams was wildly recognised for his acting gifs and talents – off it, he was respected for his kind, humble and joyful spirit.
Actors have a pretty hard job. On-screen, they’re tasked with telling someone’s else’s story, putting their own feelings and emotions, biases and thoughts aside. To give audiences a different perspective, to make them lost in another character’s world is a hard, hard job. For Michael K. Williams, though, that was probably the easiest job of all. On The Wire, he’d play Omar, a stone-cold killer with a sense of moral value, a hardened gangster with a generous heart. He refuses to harm anyone innocent, despises profanity and adores his boyfriend.
All of that makes for a complex character, an actor’s biggest challenge. But Williams’ Omar was played to perfection, leaving little doubt as to who regularly came out on top on every fan’s list of favourite characters. In many ways, he seemed an actors actor, the highest compliment anyone could pay. He could speak in poetry and prose, command you to love and hate him – and most importantly, you were swept up in the world of any character he played.
Born in 1966, he would grow up in New York, with the bright city lights and busyness of the Big Apple. He was broad and physically imposing, with a uniquely handsome face, and a raspy, deep voice. Age didn’t seem to affect him much, with the youthful energy a trait most remembered him for. He had an elegant and simple look about him as if he could slip into a conversation or two with any and everyone. In interviews, he was as charming as they come, with a unique ability to keep audiences engaged the whole way through. By his own words, he came out of the womb dancing – and whilst on earth, that joyful spirit would carry him through.
Unlike most actors, he wouldn’t head into acting straight away. He temporarily worked at Pzifer, but that didn’t last long. Upon hearing Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation, he would quit his job, his dancing feet no longer able to hack an office job. Following passions doesn’t always pay dividends, as Williams found out: he spent a year homeless, desperately looking for work as a performer.
But soon, his luck change: he went on to perform with some of the biggest names including George Michael, Missy Elliot and Madonna. “The arts saved me”, he would say. It gave him a release, a way to expel some of the frustrations and anger he had: ” It was such an outlet. I was not the best dancer, you know, by far, but I was definitely the most passionate. I always had this energy. You always felt me whether I was in sync or not with the other guys”, he said.
If dancing was his passion, acting would be his calling. In his first appearance in Bullet (handpicked by Tupac himself), he wowed, displaying an obvious talent for acting. Audiences would come to recognise his unique demeanour, scarred face and raspy voice. His years of hustle would reach a pinnacle in 2008 when he was chosen to play Omar in The Wire. For all the impact he made, the acting talents he displayed, his portrayal of a gay Black man, with a story and character of this own would be one of the most profound.
In his other roles – from Chalky White to Montrose Freeman – he was as honest, skilled and poetic as he was in The Wire, proving his natural ability to make a character his own. Beyond acting, he would dedicate his time to charity work, with prisoners and social issues being a particular area of focus.
Upon his news of death, various actors and celebrities reacted, demonstrating the impact Michael K. Williams had on the industry as a whole: “The depth of my love for this brother, can only be matched by the depth of my pain learning of his loss. 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…If you don’t know, you better ask somebody. His name was Michael K. Williams. He shared with me his secret fears then stepped out into his acting with true courage, acting in the face of fear, not in the absence of it. It took me years to learn what Michael had in abundance”, said Wendell Pierce.
Words alone can’t articulate his immense contribution to the arts, to cinema and to acting. Nor do the countless stories and tributes pay enough justice to his unique tale.
But of all the stories you’re likely to hear about Williams, it is perhaps the one about his infamous scar –obtained in defence of his friends – that remind us that beyond the fame and fortune, the accolades and praise, Williams was a fierce, loyal, and kind soul.
Bookmark This: here are five books you need on your reading list