“This Hollywood thing that you see me in, I’m passing through,” Williams told the Associated Press last year. “Because I believe this is where my passion, my purpose is supposed to be.”
Omar, a rogue robber of drug dealers based on real figures from Baltimore, was hugely popular among fans of “The Wire,” which ran on HBO from 2002 to 2008.
Williams also starred as Chalky White in HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” from 2010 to 2014 and had roles in the films “12 Years a Slave” and “Assassin’s Creed.”
Williams was nominated this year for an Emmy for supporting actor in a drama series for HBO’s “Lovecraft Country,” but lost Sunday to a star of “The Crown.”
Williams was remembered in the ceremony’s “In Memoriam” segment.