Late actor Michael K. Williams' new memoir reveals that he phed for more timate gay scen for his character Omar on 'The Wire': 'You know gay people f---, right?'
Contents:
- MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS PHED FOR MORE GAY INTIMACY ON ‘THE WIRE’: ‘YOU KNOW GAY PEOPLE F*CK, RIGHT?’
- HOW THE WIRE'S OMAR STAR FOUGHT FOR GAY REPRENTATN IN THE HBO SHOW
- HOW THE WIRE’S OMAR LTLE CHALLENGED GAY STEREOTYP MEDIA
- MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS PHED FOR MORE TIMATE GAY SCEN FOR OMAR ON THE WIRE: 'WE SHOULD GO ALL '
MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS PHED FOR MORE GAY INTIMACY ON ‘THE WIRE’: ‘YOU KNOW GAY PEOPLE F*CK, RIGHT?’
In his new memoir, the Emmy nomee and "Wire" star Michael K. Williams addrsed the portrayal of his gay character Omar. * why was omar gay in the wire *
But, of urse, that’s only part of Williams’ Simon, creator of the show, once told me that whenever someone asked him why he ma Omar gay, he would rpond: Why did we make the other 19 characters straight? It’s a brilliant unterpot, one that nonts whout antagonizg, while touchg on the theme of the first LGBTQ equaly march on Washgton, back 1979: We are clus the ‘ jt didn’t talk about for people to accept the premise that the most feared man one of Baltimore’s most dangero neighborhoods was openly gay, the actor portrayg him had to first breathe life to an asphyxiated versn of Black masculy. Said was “as gay as was Black, not that was exclively eher.
It took somethg like Hugh’ poem “Mother to Son” and assumed the le “life for me a’t been no crystal stair” was solely about the impact of racism and not homophobia or a batn of the ’s what ma Williams’ work on the show as transformative as was brgg the character of Omar to life, Williams rurrected aspects of Black queerns that had largely gone missg Black artistry outsi of theater and edians such as Mart Lawrence and Jamie Foxx dog drag on TV. Betiful boyiends who would appear naked bed wh him, makg impossible for viewers not to see his sexualy as part of his Omar on a h show, beg an out and proud gay Black man livg the Black muny, was on par wh seeg Will hang out wh Grace their all-whe one — an experience that Joe Bin once said ntributed to changg attus toward gay people.
HOW THE WIRE'S OMAR STAR FOUGHT FOR GAY REPRENTATN IN THE HBO SHOW
“Omar was the clost thg TV had to a gay superhero” * why was omar gay in the wire *
The “Lovecraft Country” and “Boardwalk Empire” actor portrayed gay dg aler Omar “The Wire” om 2002 to 2008. “As for Omar’s homosexualy, was groundbreakg 20 years ago, and I adm that at first I was sred to play a gay character, ” Williams penned an excerpt om his memoir “Scen From My Life” -thored wh Jon Sternfeld, via Vulture.
“I thk my ial fear of Omar’s sexualy me om my upbrgg, the muny that raised me, and the stubborn stereotyp of gay characters. Sce Omar was the “oppose of the stereotypil hood typ, ” Williams phed “The Wire” productn to showse all facets of Omar’s life onscreen, cludg his gay relatnships.
I thk the directors were sred, and I said to one of them, ‘You know gay people fuck, right? Williams tails how he fought for The Wire to feature more scen of gay timacy.
HOW THE WIRE’S OMAR LTLE CHALLENGED GAY STEREOTYP MEDIA
"You know gay people f--k, right?
The five-time Emmy nomee wrote that he wasn't so sure about playg a gay man at first bee of the stereotyp that he grew up wh. Oh, and he’s openly TVBefore Omar The Wire, cema and TV had a very rigid ia of what a gay man was.
MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS PHED FOR MORE TIMATE GAY SCEN FOR OMAR ON THE WIRE: 'WE SHOULD GO ALL '
Cultural juggernt shows of the 90s and early noughti were very specific how they viewed gay men, wh characters high-voiced, loose-limbed and the victim of homophobic jok. It was a sublimally effective way of limg what gayns uld be seen as.
That’s not to say the shows and characters were homophobic – they weren’t; they were jt bld to seeg gayns beyond a quirk or a predomant inty tra. The characters were gay first, everythg else after.
Wh The Wire and Omar, ’s the other way around – he’s a man who happens to be gay. That don’t mean that homosexualy wasn’t important to the character; a bounty on Omar’s head is doubled after crime boss Avon Barksdale learns he’s gay, and the early murr of a boyiend is tegral to how Omar’s storyle velops the first season. Pl Schiraldi For the first time the mastream (havg grown populary sce s release, The Wire quickly beme inic TV) gay men, and particular gay black men, had someone that was actually like them.