Michael K. Williams on ‘The Wire’: I Wanted More Gay Scen for Omar – IndieWire

Contents:

• IS MICHAEL K WILLIAMS GAY? FANS WONR ABOUT TRIPLE 9 AND THE WIRE ACTOR
• MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS WISHED ‘THE WIRE’ WENT ‘ALL IN’ ON OMAR’S INTIMACY: ‘YOU KNOW GAY PEOPLE F—, RIGHT?’
• MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS PHED FOR MORE GAY INTIMACY ON ‘THE WIRE’: ‘YOU KNOW GAY PEOPLE F*CK, RIGHT?’
• MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS FOUGHT FOR TTH OF GAY CHARACTER OMAR THE WIRE
• MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS PHED FOR MORE TIMATE GAY SCEN FOR OMAR ON THE WIRE: 'WE SHOULD GO ALL '
• GAY BLACK MEN RARELY SAW THEMSELV ON SCREEN. MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS CHANGED THAT.

IS MICHAEL K WILLIAMS GAY? FANS WONR ABOUT TRIPLE 9 AND THE WIRE ACTOR

Fans wonr: Is Michael K Williams gay? The actor is known for playg a range of tough guys and closeted gay characters, sparkg viewers’ cursy as to his sexual orientatn real life.

He is bt known for rol cludg Omar The Wire, Montrose Freeman Lovecraft Country and Sweet Pea Triple wonr if actor Michael K Williams is gayAlthough he is known for playg a number of closeted gay characters, don’t seem like Michael K Williams is actually gay real year, actrs Tasha Smh posted a poolsi Instagram of herself and Williams, wh a ptn llg him “the love of [her] life.

Surprisgly, the character was gay. Playg closeted gay characters has bee a recurrg theme for Williams’s reer. Portrayg openly gay stickup man Omar on HBO’s wily acclaimed “The Wire, ” Michael K.

MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS WISHED ‘THE WIRE’ WENT ‘ALL IN’ ON OMAR’S INTIMACY: ‘YOU KNOW GAY PEOPLE F—, RIGHT?’

I thk the directors were sred, and I said to one of them, ‘You know gay people fuck, right? While Williams, who died of a dg overdose at age 54 last year, did not intify as gay, he mentned his memoir that he was lled “Faggot Mike” growg up. The book, -wrten by Jon Sternfeld, tails Williams’ ial fears about playg a gay character onscreen.

MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS PHED FOR MORE GAY INTIMACY ON ‘THE WIRE’: ‘YOU KNOW GAY PEOPLE F*CK, RIGHT?’

“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 wrote. “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.

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. OPINION: The late renowned actor gave tough, passnate, and nuanced reprentatns of queer men on screen an dtry that sred cis-het Black entertaers om dog first time I saw a believable Black gay man on televisn was watchg the character of Omar Ltle, played by the late Michael K.

MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS FOUGHT FOR TTH OF GAY CHARACTER OMAR THE WIRE

I was around 12 years old at the time, and I remember beg stunned by the fact that there was a Black gay man who was tough, nfint, sexual, funny, and gangsta on a show that straight people were huge fans of.

I wouldn’t get an opportuny to see other Black gay male characters on TV that gave me as much life until the release of Noah’s Arc a few years later. Williams ma a bold reer move that ntu to be even major now as cis-het Black actors still stggle wh wh the stigma of playg Black queer 1993, superstar Will Smh says that legendary actor Denzel Washgton advised him not to kiss another man while playg a gay n-artist the h film Six Degre of Separatn to prerve his mascule image.

In 2015, Kev Hart said he turned down a gay role Tropic Thunr due to his “own personal securi. Jackson to Mike Epps, have also ma a pot to tell the prs that they wouldn’t play gay rol such fears never stopped Williams.

MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS PHED FOR MORE TIMATE GAY SCEN FOR OMAR ON THE WIRE: 'WE SHOULD GO ALL '

“They were two gay men that I loved to ath.

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.

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.

GAY BLACK MEN RARELY SAW THEMSELV ON SCREEN. MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS CHANGED THAT.

Williams, who played gay dg aler Omar Ltle on the acclaimed HBO seri The Wire, fought for a full portrayal of Omar's sexualy and relatnships the seri, a new memoir reveals.

I thk the directors were sred, and I said to one of them, 'You know gay people f*ck, right?

"I thk he was anx to get before one of changed our mds, " Williams memoir also reveals that Williams had some trepidatn about playg a gay character.