Michael K. Williams attends a gala for The Public at the Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto. Williams, who played the beloved character Omar Little on The Wire, was found dead at his apartment in Brooklyn on Sept. 6, 2021.Evan Agostini/The Associated Press
Actor Michael K. Williams, who as the rogue robber of drug dealers Omar Little on The Wire created one of the most popular characters in television in recent decades, died Monday.
Mr. Williams was found dead Monday afternoon in his Brooklyn penthouse apartment, New York police said. He was 54.
His death was being investigated as a possible drug overdose, the NYPD said.
Little, a “stick-up boy” based on real figures from Baltimore, was probably the most beloved character among the devoted fans of The Wire, the HBO show that ran from 2002 to 2008 and is rewatched constantly in streaming.
From Omar to Chalky, acting saved Michael K. Williams
The Brooklyn-born Mr. Williams was also a ubiquitous character actor in other shows and films for more than two decades, including roles on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire and Lovecraft Country, and in the films 12 Years a Slave and Assassin’s Creed.
As Little, he played a criminal with a strict moral code, known for taking advantage of a reputation for brutality that wasn’t always real.
A cigarette in his mouth, he would whistle “The Farmer in the Dell” to ominously announce his arrival.
And 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.”
The character also broke TV ground as an openly gay man whose sexuality wasn’t central to his role.
Mr. Williams appeared in all five seasons of The Wire from 2002 to 2008, his character growing in prominence with each season.
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