RIP: Michael K. Williams Dead at 54 Years Old

The Wire staple Michael K. Williams has died at 54 years old.

Marianna Shafran of Shafran PR, the late actor’s longtime representative, confirmed the sad news to The Hollywood Reporter, “It is with deep sorrow that the family announces the passing of Emmy-nominated actor Michael Kenneth Williams. They ask for your privacy while grieving this insurmountable loss.” A representative from the New York Police Department also affirmed that Williams was found dead in his home in Brooklyn on the afternoon of Monday, September 6, however a cause of death was not revealed.

Williams appeared on several high-profile HBO shows, including Boardwalk Empire, The Night Of and, most recently, Lovecraft Country — a role that gave him an Emmy nomination. “We are devastated to learn of the passing of Michael Kenneth Williams, a member of the HBO family for more than 20 years,” the network said in a statement. “While the world is aware of his immense talents as an artist, we knew Michael as a dear friend who was beloved by all who had the privilege to work with him. We send our deepest condolences to his family for this immeasurable loss.”David Simon, the creator of HBO‘s The Wire, penned a tribute to the late Michael K. Williams in a new New York Times op-ed.

The author, writer and producer admitted that he “misread the man from the start,” adding that it was Ed Burns, his writing partner, “who had first spotted Mike’s read for Omar on a tape of two dozen New York auditions a year earlier.” He continued to share a story about how it became tradition for Williams to ask the writers room what they plan on saying with the new eason of The Wire:

“He gave us an astounding gift — an act of faith from a magnificent actor who could have played his hand very differently. Television usually chases its audience — if they love them some Omar, you feed them more Omar. If they can’t stop looking at Stringer, you write more Stringer. Never mind story and theme.

Instead, Mike bent his beautiful mind to a task that even the best writers and show runners often avoid. He thought about the whole story, the whole of the work.

Perhaps more than any in that talented cast, I came to trust Mike to speak publicly to our drama and its purposes, to take personal pride in all that we were trying, however improbably, to build. He became increasingly political as the show aged, and in interviews took to addressing societal and political issues, his arguments ranging well beyond Omar’s arc.”

Williams was found dead in his home in Brooklyn on the afternoon of Monday, September 6, but a cause of death was not revealed.