Wendell Pierce is paying tribute to Michael K. Williams after he was found dead on Monday at 54.
Tributes poured in for the “Boardwalk Empire” actor but it was his former co-star on “The Wire” who shared a Twitter thread that truly brought out the emotion.
“The depth of my love for this brother, can only be matched by the depth of my pain learning of his loss. An immensely talented man with the ability to give voice to the human condition portraying the lives of those whose humanity is seldom elevated until he sings their truth,” Pierce wrote.
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Continuing, “He shared with me his secret fears then stepped out into his acting with true courage, acting in the face of fear, not in the absence of it. It took me years to learn what Michael had in abundance.”
If you don’t know, you better ask somebody. His name was Michael K. Williams. He shared with me his secret fears then stepped out into his acting with true courage, acting in the face of fear, not in the absence of it. It took me years to learn what Michael had in abundance. pic.twitter.com/BIkoPPrPzg
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) September 6, 2021
Pierce said how Williams was “proud” of what he had achieved. “Always truthful, never inauthentic. The kindest of persons. Like two mischievous kids, we would laugh & joke whenever we would meet.”
And while it was “The Wire” that brought them together for “that ‘scene’ on a park bench” it gave them a moment to “say something about Black men.”
“Our struggle with ourselves, internally, and each other. For me & Mike we had nothing but respect,” he said.
THE WIRE brought us together and immortalized Omar & Bunk in that “scene” on a park bench.But for us we aimed to take that moment in time together and say something about Black men. Our struggle with ourselves, internally, and each other. For me & Mike we had nothing but respect pic.twitter.com/CfDW3rcY2c
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) September 6, 2021
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Concluding the tribute with a quote, Pierce added, “So to you, my brother Mike, there is a small comfort that I know, you knew how much we loved you.”
“There is a certain immortality involved in theater, not created by monuments and books, but through the knowledge an actor keeps to his dying day that on a certain afternoon, in an empty and dusty theater, he cast the shadow of a being that was not himself……. pic.twitter.com/wcuOb58cnu
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) September 6, 2021
On Monday afternoon, New York Police Department confirmed the news to The Wrap, that the actor was found on the morning of Sept. 6 in his Brooklyn apartment.
“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 unsurmountable loss,” his longtime rep confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
Kerry Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Ken Jeong, Mariah Carey, and more have also honoured Williams.
