Michael Kenneth Williams was born in Brooklyn, to an African-American father from South Carolina and a Bahamian mother from Nassau. He was raised in the Vandaveer housing projects in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, and attended George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School. According to a DNA analysis, he is partly descended from the Mende people of Sierra Leone. After getting in some trouble as a youth, he enrolled at the National Black Theatre in New York City. He later got a job at a pharmaceutical company. Inspired by 'Janet Jackson .
Used be a dancer and then a choreographer, doing routines for music videos and tours.
His large facial scar is the result of a bar fight he got involved in on his 25th birthday. His assailants sliced him with razor blades.
During his Sept. 19, 2008 interview with XM radios Opie & Anthony, he mentions that he is not ashamed of anything hes done as an actor. But, there is footage of him in Hammer pants and a half shirt from his dancing days that makes him cringe.
He got one of his first major acting roles in Bullet after being discovered by Tupac Shakur.
Edward Norton wrote a cameo for him in The Incredible Hulk because he was a fan of "The Wire" .
Williams suffered from an identity crisis during his portrayal of Omar Little, going by his characters name, and developed a habit of smoking cannabis and an addiction to cocaine in 2004.
In 2013, he starred in MGMT s music video for Cool Song No. 2.
He turned down the lead role in Django Unchained because of his commitment to "Boardwalk Empire" .
He discovered Felicia Pearson in a Baltimore club, invited her to come to the set of "The Wire" one day, introduced her to the writers and the producers, and after subsequent auditions, she was offered the role of Snoop in the series.
He serves as the American Civil Liberties Union celebrity ambassador to the Campaign for Smart Justice.
Williams was featured modelling for GAPs 2014 fall collection.
He got the part of Omar Little after one audition.
He has established Making Kids Win, a charitable organization whose primary objective is to build community centres in urban neighborhoods that are in need of safe spaces for children to learn and play.
He campaigned for the role of Black Manta in James Wans Aquaman.
[on how similar he is to his character Omar Little in,"The Wire" (2002) ] - I was never a thug. I never even liked to,fight.
[on how he got his facial scar] It happened on my 25th birthday. I was,acting immaturely because I was on that "liquid courage" [alcohol], and,some words were exchanged between me and a group of gentlemen. I was,drunk so I fought and ended up getting jumped. They cut me with a razor,from the top of my head to my neck. I nearly lost my life that night.
That was my first wake-up call.
