BIEN Celebrates Michael K. Williams and His Portrayal of Omar Little in The Wire

Oct. 19, 2022

BIEN creates a homage to Michael K. Williams and celebrates his life and portrayal of Omar Little on HBO's classic series, "The Wire".

The team came up with the concept of the cocaine-filled King chess piece as a visual analogy inspired by the famous scene in Season 1, Episode 3 when D’Angelo teaches the corner kids how to play chess. When a dope boy asks, “How do you get to BE the King?” D’Angelo answers, “It ain’t like that. See…the King stays the King,” as the scene cuts to Omar in the middle of the action.

Hung Le, creative director at BIEN said:

"Omar shattered diversity stereotypes and made gay love accessible and relatable for the masses. That’s why BIEN wanted to create a passion project in honor of this character and the great actor."

 

The passion project was a labor of love involving deep research into Omar’s character. Carlos Alegria, ACD at BIEN, adds, "We chose to go with his favorite handgun, the SIG-Sauer P226, instead of his signature shotgun for two reasons. One, it was his weapon of choice when Omar was going after the King himself, Avon Barksdale, and umm, two, the muzzle flash is awesome at close range."

Technically, the BIEN team mixed many techniques, from 3D printing, to live-action and actual 3D.

Alisha Hawkins, Senior Producer said:

"We’re just glad to pay homage to one of the greatest feats anyone has achieved in advancing a culture of inclusivity for all."

 

Rest in power, Michael.