Omar the wire series#
Omar the wire tv#

Williams appeared in all five seasons of 'The Wire' from 2002 to 2008, his character growing in prominence with each season.

Omar the wire tv#

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 thrusted 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.

Omar the wire series#

Williams was also a ubiquitous character actor in other shows and films for more than two decades, creating another classic character as Chalky White in HBO's 'Boardwalk Empire' from 2010 to 2014, and appearing in the HBO series 'Lovecraft Country' and the films '12 Years a Slave' and 'Assassin's Creed.'Ĭode Switch Rewatching 'The Wire': Classic Crime Drama Seems Written For TodayĪs Little, he played a criminal with a strict moral code, known for taking advantage of a reputation for brutality that wasn't always real. Little, a 'stick-up boy' based on real figures from Baltimore, was probably the most popular character among the devoted fans of 'The Wire,' the HBO show that ran from 2002 to 2008 and is re-watched constantly in streaming. The medical examiner was investigating the cause of death. His death was being investigated as a possible drug overdose, the NYPD said. Williams was found dead Monday afternoon by family members in his Brooklyn penthouse apartment, New York City police said. Williams, who as the rogue robber of drug dealers Omar Little on 'The Wire' created one of the most beloved and enduring characters in a prime era of television, died Monday. Williams, who played the beloved character Omar Little on 'The Wire,' has died.Ĭhris Pizzello/Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP In this 2016 file photo, Michael Kenneth Williams poses for a portrait during the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton.