Michael K. Williams was “doing well” and writing a book in the days before his death, the actor’s nephew, Dominic Dupont, said in a new episode of Red Table Talk this week. Williams, the beloved character actor who played Omar Little on HBO’s The Wire, died on Sept. 6, 2021, after a drug overdose. He was 54. Four men were charged in connection with his death in February.
Dupont told Red Table Talk hosts Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield-Jones that his uncle was “working on a book” before his death. “It did not appear to me that Mike was sliding back into addiction,” Dupont said. Although he had only recently come home after serving time in prison, Dupont said he never suspected Williams was “overwhelmed or dealing with any major issues,” reports PEOPLE.
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“Michael also worked really hard not to have the things he was going through weigh on other people,” Dupont explained. “And he was an actor, right, and you can fool people, you can convince people that you’re okay.” Dupont believes Williams would have never knowingly taken fentanyl. “I know that like I know my first name,” he said.
Dupont was the one who discovered Williams deceased in his Brooklyn apartment. He immediately called 911, and a responding officer asked Dupont if he could perform CPR. Dupont knew this would not help revive his uncle, though, and told the Red Table Talk hosts he found his uncle “cold.”
The New York City medical examiner’s office ruled Williams’ cause of death as acute drug intoxication “by the combined effects of fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, heroin, and cocaine.” His death was ruled an accident. However, authorities later arrested four men in connection with selling the fentanyl-laced drugs to the actor. According to prosecutors, the four men were allegedly part of a drug trafficking group in Brooklyn and sold the fatal drugs to Williams the day before his death. They were all charged with “conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl analog, fentanyl, and heroin” and could be sentenced to five to 40 years in prison if convicted. One man was also charged with causing Williams’ death in connection to the narcotics conspiracy, a charge that could lead to a 20-year prison sentence if convicted.
Williams earned Emmy nominations for Bessie, The Night Of, Vice, When They See Us, and Lovecraft Country. His best-known role is Omar Little on The Wire, which made him one of the most in-demand character actors in Hollywood. Williams’ other credits include Gone Baby Gone, 12 Years a Slave, Community, Walk This Way, Inherent Vice, Boardwalk Empire, and Motherless Brooklyn.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse or addiction, please call the National Drug Helpline at (844) 289-0879.ย
