Michael K. Williams was more than “The Wire” actor; see five facts from his personal life

Michael K. Williams was found dead at 54 on 6 September 2021, and while he is famous for his role as Omar Little in “The Wire”, we look at five facts from his personal life.

It is easy to see celebrities only through their work in entertainment (or any other field that they carved their path in). Like in Michael K. Williams’ case, the narrative has surrounded his acting career.

Known for playing Omar in the American crime drama series “The Wire”, he also has several other acting credits. Williams began acting in 1995 and famously featured alongside Tupac Shakur as High Top in “Bullet” (1996). He was also in “The Incredible Hulk” (2008), “12 Years a Slave” (2013), “Law & Order” (1997), (2001), (2003), (2006), (2009), “When They See Us” (2019), and “Lovecraft Country” (2020).

In addition, he had voice and motion capture parts in video games, including “Battlefield 4” and “Battlefield 2042”.

Here are some noteworthy facts about actor Michael K. Williams personal life:

 

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1. The scar, which became his signature look and earned him early acting roles, came from a razor blade during a bar fight in New York City on his 25th birthday.
2. As the fact above shows, the actor had a troubled childhood and he grew up in the Vanderveer Projects in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. His mother was from The Commonwealth of the Bahamas, while his father, Booker T. Williams, is an American.
3. When he had his DNA samples analysed, he found that he is a descendant of the Mende people of Sierra Leone; one of the two largest ethnic groups in the country.
4. Before he went into acting, Williams worked for the American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation Pfizer as a temporary employee. He cited “Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814” as the reason he left his job and school to become a dancer and eventually started appearing in music videos and performing on tours for the likes of George Michael, Crystal Waters and Madonna.
5. The actor had always struggled with substance abuse from a young age and in 2017, he told New York Times that it is an ‘everyday struggle’ for him. And, as it appears, it was the end of him as police report finding drug paraphernalia near his body.

Michael K. Williams is survived by his only known son, Elijah Anderson, who is an artist and illustrator with collaborations/features in Popeye Magazine, NY Mag, Saucony Originals, BookWorks, and Bar Part Time. His death has been mourned by several of his colleagues in the film industry including Aisha Tyler, director James Gunn, and singer Saul Williams.

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