Atlantic City Weekly

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Michael Kenneth Williams

Photo by HBO

You won’t find shotgun-toting, drug-dealer robbing, Honey Nut Cheerio-loving Omar Little on TV Guide’s most iconic or memorable dramatic characters list — although he should be there. Michael Kenneth Williams is the actor who brought the relentless Omar Little to life on the acclaimed HBO series The Wire.

Last Sunday night, Sept. 19, Williams returned to HBO in the new series Boardwalk Empire. At a private screening party for the show’s premiere, Williams’ fans applauded his appearance as the character Chalky White. About a week before the premiere I spoke with Williams about The Wire, Martin Scorsese and, of course, Boardwalk Empire. (See photos here of Michael Kenneth Williams and other Empire cast members at Caesars for the Atlantic City premiere Sept. 16.)

My readers would kill me if we didn’t talk a little bit about Omar Little.

Thank you, and let your readers know that I thank everybody for the love that I get from having played Omar.

When I first watched The Wire I said I have seen this “poor black drug dealers versus the police” storyline before in too many movies and TV shows. I was surprised at how good the writing was and how the stories progressed. Were you surprised by how complex the writers made Omar Little?

I was surprised from the very beginning. They told me from the door, “The good guys are not going to be all good and the bad guys won’t be all bad.” I can say I was never disappointed by the scripts or amount of work that went into The Wire.

What was your feedback from people about Omar?

People love the fact that he was someone who was never seen on screen before. He had a code and in his own way he was a larger-than-life figure.

All fans of The Wire have their favorite Omar moment. What’s yours?

That’s hard because I had so many great scenes. I guess my favorite is the next to last episode of season three. It’s the opening scene where me and Brother Mouzone have a standoff and discuss killing Stringer Bell.

One of the biggest travesties in TV history is that you and other cast members were never recognized during Emmy Award time. How do you feel about that?

I’m not going to lie. It hurts. There is no guarantee as an actor that you will ever have the opportunity to be in a show as well produced as The Wire. As the shows were coming out and the seasons passed by, we realized that The Wire was special. So to be a part of one of best shows out and never be recognized with even a nomination is hard to swallow. The other side, however, is that we act because we love the craft. It’s a blessing just be able to practice your craft and earn a living. One thing that also helps is the fact that the critics knew and wrote about The Wire. Another thing that is important is that the people in the streets, people who watch and know good TV and film, always stop me and share acknowledgements. Right now it looks like we may never get the credit we deserved for The Wire but people know how good we were and they know how great a character Omar was.

What can you tell me about your role on Boardwalk Empire?

My name is Chalky White — go figure that. My character, White, is the unofficial Mayor of Black Atlantic City. I’m only in one scene in the first show, so I can’t say a lot more. I can say they have written some great stuff for me and it was great working with Marty [Scorsese] on Boardwalk Empire.

How is Chalky different from Omar?

Chalky is a businessman first. With Chalky White everything is about that money. Omar was a businessman, but he was also a hunter. Omar didn’t care about his clothes, he always wore the same black pants and T-shirts. Chalky White is a man like me, who keeps up on fashion. We have all of the clothes for Boardwalk Empire tailor made so that is really a good look.

How did you get the part?

I didn’t have to audition. My agent called me and I was doing a TV show in Africa. I did send in a taped reading or something and they called and said I had the part. I had worked with Marty before in Bringing Out The Dead and he remembered me. That was humbling to have this director who has worked with everybody and won every award tell you that he remembered working with me.

Aside from Boardwalk Empire what can we expect next?
I am working on some projects where I will be behind the camera. Working on The Wire and now Boardwalk Empire, I have a craving to tell other stories that have not be told yet. We have stories about wonderful people from the Caribbean and from my hometown of Brooklyn. 

Raymond Tyler hosts the Alternative Soul Sunday Breakfast Club radio show each Sunday from 7–8am on 96.1FM WTTH - The Touch.