Photo by: Victor Boyko/Contributor
Lovecraft Country star, Jurnee Smollett pays tribute to her late Lovecraft Country co-star, Michael K. Williams, on what would’ve been his 55th birthday, yesterday Nov.22.
Taking to Instagram, the former child actress shares various photos of her time spent with Williams on the set of the series.
“Happy birthday, my brother,” the 35-year-old writes. “I miss you so.”
Continuing her tribute to the Brooklyn native, Smollett writes a touching message for him.
“Today, feeling a lot,” she states. “Mostly missing this beautiful man, the beautiful life, the beautiful art we created. Some things I’ll just never understand. While I’ll always miss the ‘us’ we were, and my heart is hurting, I’m thankful for the time I had you as mine. Love you for life.”
Smollett shares with fans that after Williams’ passing, she struggled to accept the news.
“I called him,” Smollett expresses. “I called him over & over until my brain said stop, he’s gone. I couldn’t breathe. Taken awhile for my brain to metabolize how the world can continue to spin w/out him here in the physical form.”
Honoring his legacy at the 2021 Emmys, Smollett wore a hair accessory with his initials on it.
Williams was widely recognized of his previous roles such as Omar Little, from HBO series The Wire, and Chalky White from Boardwalk Empire. This past July, he was nominated for his role in Lovecraft Country.
Being vocal about his addiction and mental health struggles, Williams stated that he was “very fortunate” for the success he’s had in his career.
Photo by: Rodrigo Varela/Stringer/Getty
“There’s no words to say how fortunate I am, you know?” he shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “To keep it real: To be a Black man in Hollywood — not only just to land those two roles, but as a Black man in Hollywood, to go on those two shows back to back, you know, on such a great network as HBO — man, to say I’m fortunate is an understatement.”
This past September, the 54-year-old actor was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment.
Williams died of an unintentional overdose, according to the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Williams suffered from an “acute intoxication” caused by the combined effects of fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, heroin, and cocaine.
On Sept. 14th, Williams was buried in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Happy Heavenly Birthday to the late Michael K. Williams! Tell us down below what is your favorite Michael K. Williams’ role!
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