You Can Never Forget Michael K. Williams

First comes a whistled tune—“The Farmer in the Dell,” delivered with extra menace. Then the sight of him—Omar Little, played by Michael K. Williams, stalking the streets of Baltimore in a billowing duster concealing a shotgun. Omar was the most indelible character on The Wire, one of TV’s greatest dramas, and the show was most viewers’ introduction to Williams, a captivating screen presence who was found dead yesterday in Brooklyn at the age of 54.

Williams demonstrated versatility far beyond,” declared the headline of of the actor. But on hearing of his death, I couldn’t help but think of his swaggering entrance on that show back in 2002, when he was a near-total unknown. Though was about the impassable institutional lines drawn between cops and criminals, Omar belonged to neither world, a stickup artist who robbed drug dealers and kept to his own moral code. From the first minute, Williams spun to life a singular character who was intimidating, unpredictable, and devilishly wry—a standout in a series littered with career-best performances.