Man of the World’s latest cover star is none other than Michael K. Williams. Featured in a striking photo shoot lensed by Caitlin Cronenberg and styled by Brian Coats, Williams sports luxe spring fashions as he delivers powerful fashion images. Opening up to the magazine about the road to stardom, Williams reflects on growing up in Flatbush, Brooklyn, being friends with Queen Latifah, when she was just Dana and playing the iconic role of Omar on the HBO’s hit series The Wire.
Recalling the first time he met Queen Latifah, Williams shares, “So we went from street friends to friends friends and we were in my apartment one day smoking weed and she was like ‘I’m going to get a record deal one day.’ And I was like ‘Sure, here, hit this’. That’s around when I started struggling with substance abuse. I went away for thirteen months and when I came back home, I went looking for her. Everybody was like, ‘Dana’s on the radio. Her name is Queen Latifah now!’ I was like ‘Holy shit!’. That was the best thing to ever happen to me because she inspired the hell out of me and still does. I was determined to not let her leave me behind.”
On the subject of Omar, a famous role, which will always follow him, Williams explains, “I was so corny growing up. I was the kid who got picked on. So to go from that and to not have dealt with that part of my life personally, to then be thrown into fame – or the popularity, I should say, of Omar was crazy. I went through a very dark period when they killed that character, took him from me. They took my best friend. I had thought, I’ll get successful and I’ll be happy. I thought all my emotional scars would be gone once I got there, and all it did was shine a light on them.”
Moving forward, Williams says, “I want to move people. I want to touch people I don’t even know. Because Omar was very real to me, I was able to do that. Different aspects of his life were taken from people that I knew or know. I understood his heart, and that’s where the compassion comes from. I understand his heart…”
