“The Wire’’ actor Michael K. Williams was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment Monday afternoon, law-enforcement sources told The Post.
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Drug paraphernalia was found in the five-time Emmy nominee’s apartment, suggesting the acclaimed 54-year-old actor may have fatally OD’d, possibly from heroin or fentanyl, sources said.
Michael K. Williams poses on the red carpet as he arrives for the BET Awards at Microsoft theatre in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 27, 2021.
(REUTERS/Ringo Chiu)
“No foul play indicated,” a police source said. “No forced entry, the apartment was in order.”
Williams was found dead by his nephew in the living room of his Kent Avenue pad in the luxury Williamsburg high-rise, sources said.
The Flatbush native — currently a 2021 Emmy Award nominee as best supporting actor for “Lovecraft Country” — was famous for his role as Omar Little in the gritty TV series “The Wire,’’ and as Chalky White in “Boardwalk Empire.’’
Williams had been open about his personal struggles with drugs through the years, including during the filming of “The Wire,” saying that getting so into the role of Little, who robs drug dealers, affected him in real life.
Michael K. Williams is seen in an episode of HBO’s "Lovecraft Country."
(Eli Joshua Ade/HBO)
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The acclaimed actor told NPR in 2016 that he once stumbled into a church in New Jersey desperately seeking help for his addiction.
“When I came through those doors, I was broken. … This was, I would say, around the … third season of ‘The Wire,’ ” Williams said.
“I was on drugs. … I was in jeopardy of destroying everything I had worked so hard for, and I came in those doors, and I met a man who had never even heard of ‘The Wire,’ much less watched it,” he said, referring to the pastor.
Michael K Williams arrives for the premiere of "The Public" at the New York Public Library in New York, U.S., April 1, 2019.
(REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs)
“I wrote my full name down — Michael Kenneth Williams — and in the office, [the pastor] turns around, and he says, ‘So what do you want to be called, man?’ I said, ‘Well, you know, my name is Michael, but I could do Mike.’ He says, ‘Why does everybody say, ‘Omar, Omar’s in trouble?’ ” And I was like, ‘Oh, this dude is clueless [about the show],’ ” Williams said.
Additional reporting by Joe Marino
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