Michael K. Williams Trivia: 15 interesting facts about the actor!

Michael K. Williams is an American actor, dancer, and reporter.

Let’s find out some fun facts about him!

1. Michael Kenneth Williams was born November 22, 1966 in Brooklyn.

2. His father is an African American from South Carolina and his mother is a Bahamian from Nassau.

3. Williams was raised in the Vanderveer Apartments in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, and attended George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School.

4. According to a DNA analysis, he is descended partly from the Mende people of Sierra Leone.

5. After getting in some trouble as a youth, he enrolled at the National Black Theatre in New York City.

6. Williams worked for a pharmaceutical company. However, inspired by Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814, he left school and quit his job, against the wishes of his family, to pursue a career as a dancer.

7. During a year in which he was intermittently homeless, Williams visited record labels and dance studios looking for work.

8. He got a job as a background dancer on a music tour for Kym Sims’ dance anthem Too Blind To See It, which led to more work appearing as a dancer in videos and on tours, such as with George Michael, Madonna, as well as some modeling work. He also choreographed Crystal Waters’ 1994 single “100% Pure Love”.

9. He was given one of his first acting roles after being discovered by Tupac Shakur and was cast as High Top, the brother and henchman to Shakur’s drug kingpin Tank, in the 1996 film Bullet.

10. Williams is well known for a large facial scar received during a bar fight on Jamaica Avenue, New York City, on his 25th birthday, in which he was slashed with a razor blade.

11. The scar became his signature feature, and resulted in offers to perform as a thug in music videos and modeling opportunities with noted photographers like David LaChapelle.

12. Michael K. Williams also serves as the American Civil Liberties Union celebrity ambassador to the Campaign for Smart Justice.

13. He is best known for his portrayal of Omar Little on the HBO drama series The Wire and Albert “Chalky” White on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.

14. He was also acclaimed for his role as Jack Gee, husband of Bessie Smith, in the HBO telefilm biopic Bessie.

15. He has acted in supporting roles in a number of films and television series, including The Road, Inherent Vice, The Night Of, Gone Baby Gone, and 12 Years a Slave.