With the recent release of the western film “Surrounded,” audiences are treated to the final performance from the late actor Michael Kenneth Williams, who passed away in September 2021.
Williams is renowned for his work on television, particularly for his unforgettable portrayal of drug dealer robber Omar Little in HBO’s “The Wire.” He received five Emmy nominations, four of which were for other separate projects on HBO.
However, Williams also had a notable 25-year career in the film industry, often taking on smaller parts and supporting roles, but occasionally working with iconic directors and appearing in major blockbusters. Test your knowledge of Williams’ filmography in this week’s quiz, but remember, you better not miss if you come at the king.
1. Michael K. Williams made his film debut in 1996’s “Bullet,” alongside Tupac Shakur, Donnie Wahlberg, Adrien Brody, and which Schenectady-born actor?
2. Williams appeared in what 1999 movie directed by Martin Scorsese, in which Scorsese himself had a cameo as the voice of a radio dispatcher?
3. True or false: Williams co-starred in the French film “Love in the Afternoon” directed by acclaimed New Wave director Eric Rohmer?
4. Williams played a cop in a 2007 crime drama with a leading man who would later win an Oscar, and a director who was not only a previous Oscar recipient but also the brother of the film’s main star. What was the movie?
5. Edward Norton admired Michael K. Williams’ work in “The Wire” so much that he wrote a cameo for him in his 2008 reboot of a character previously portrayed on the big screen by Ang Lee. Can you name the movie?
6. Williams was cast not only by Martin Scorsese, but also by Scorsese’s disciple Spike Lee. In what war movie with a predominantly Black cast did this happen?
7. Williams had a role in an Oscar-winning Best Picture that is connected to the Capital Region. What is the movie?
8. Known for his appearances in remakes and reboots, Williams starred in several of them in the 2010s. Which of the following films was he NOT in: 2014’s “RoboCop,” 2014’s “The Gambler,” 2015’s “Annie,” or 2016’s “Ghostbusters”?
9. Williams was part of the star-studded cast of 2018’s “The Public,” a film about a group of homeless people who take over a public library during the winter. He acted alongside Alec Baldwin, Taylor Schilling, Christian Slater, Emilio Estevez, Gabrielle Union, Jena Malone, and Jeffrey Wright. Can you identify which of the aforementioned names also wrote and directed the film?
10. Returning to movies with local connections and Edward Norton’s admiration for Michael K. Williams, what 2019 period piece, written and directed by Norton, reunited the pair and included scenes filmed in Troy?
Answers:
1. The answer is Mickey Rourke.
2. The movie is “Bringing Out the Dead.”
3. False, Williams appeared in “I Think I Love My Wife,” the 2007 American remake directed by and starring Chris Rock.
4. The movie is “Gone Baby Gone,” starring Casey Affleck and directed by Ben Affleck.
5. The answer is “The Incredible Hulk.”
6. Williams was cast in “Miracle at St. Anna.”
7. The movie is “12 Years a Slave,” which is based on the autobiography of Solomon Northup, a free Black man from Saratoga County who was kidnapped and sold into slavery.
8. Williams was not in “Annie.”
9. Emilio Estevez both acted in and wrote and directed “The Public.”
10. The movie is “Motherless Brooklyn,” written and directed by Edward Norton and partially filmed in Troy.
