Omari Latif Hardwick (born January 9, 1974) is an American actor known for his starring role as James St. Patrick / Ghost, the protagonist of

Starz Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...

's ''

Power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...

'' and his role as Vanderohe in

Zack Snyder Zachary Edward Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with ''Dawn of the Dead (2004 film), Dawn of the Dead'', a remake of the 1978 horror film Dawn of the Dead (1978 film), of the same name ...

's ''

Army of the Dead ''Army of the Dead'' is a 2021 American post-apocalyptic zombie heist film directed by Zack Snyder from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shay Hatten and Joby Harold, based on a story he also created. The film features an ensemble cast consist ...

'' (2021). He is also known for his roles in '' Saved'' and '' Dark Blue'', in

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

's '' Miracle at St. Anna'' (2008), '' Kick-Ass'' (2010),

Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of Madea, Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a tough elderly woman, and also portrays her brother Joe Simmons and her ...

's ''

For Colored Girls ''For Colored Girls'' is a 2010 American drama film adapted from Ntozake Shange's 1975 original choreopoem '' for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf''. Written, directed and co-produced by Tyler Perry, the film ...

'' (2010) and as Andre in

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

Network's ''

Being Mary Jane ''Being Mary Jane'' is an American drama television series created by Mara Brock Akil and starring Gabrielle Union. The pilot aired on July 2, 2013, as an hour-long television film across a 90-minute timeslot, before resuming as a weekly series ...

''. Hardwick earned a 2025 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album nomination for the album ''Concrete & Whiskey Act II Part 1: A Bourbon 30 Series.''

Early life and education

Hardwick was born in Savannah, Georgia, the son of Joyce and Clifford Hardwick III, an attorney. He is one of four siblings. Growing up in

Decatur, Georgia Decatur () is a city and the county seat of DeKalb County, Georgia, DeKalb County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, th ...

, Hardwick wrote poetry on a regular basis, and participated in many sports. In high school, he attended Marist School in Brookhaven, Georgia, where he played baseball, basketball and football. He later enrolled at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

on a football scholarship. Hardwick continued acting and writing poetry, minoring in theater. In 1996, he pledged and became a member of the Zeta Pi chapter of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

fraternity.

Career

After graduation, Hardwick initially pursued a career in football, hoping to join the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

. He declared himself for the NFL Draft, where he was not selected, and eventually returned to acting. As a struggling actor, Hardwick did odd jobs in order to pay for acting classes and started living in his car. In 2002, Hardwick was an extra in

Floetry Floetry were an English contemporary R&B, R&B duo comprising Marsha Ambrosius ("the Songstress") and The Floacist, Natalie Stewart ("the Floacist"). The group recorded two studio albums, one live album, and sold over 1,500,000 records worldwid ...

's "Say Yes" music video. From 2003 to 2004, he participated in the

National Poetry Slam The National Poetry Slam (NPS) was a performance poetry competition where teams from across the United States, Canada, and, occasionally, Europe and Australia, participate in a large-scale poetry slam. The event occurred in early August every y ...

competition, placing top 5 overall. Hardwick finally got his break in the 2004 TV movie ''

Sucker Free City ''Sucker Free City'' is a 2004 American crime drama television film directed by Spike Lee and written by Alex Tse. The film examines white, black, and Chinese characters in San Francisco and the conflicts they encounter with each other. The film ...

''. In 2006, he booked a role in the feature film ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and appeared as a series regular in the TV show '' Saved'', which required he spend two years training as a fireman and a paramedic. In 2010, Hardwick became a founding member of "Plan B Inc. Theater Group", and a co-founder of "Actor's Lounge" at the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Greenway Theater. He also founded production company "Bravelife Films". Hardwick was also featured in the urban lifestyle publication, Prominence Magazine for its Holiday issue. In 2011, Hardwick received his best film reviews to date for his role as "Troy" in the critically acclaimed indie hit ''

I Will Follow "I Will Follow" is a song by Irish rock music, rock band U2. It is the opening track from their debut album, ''Boy (album), Boy'', and it was released as the album's second single (music), single in October 1980. Lead singer Bono wrote the lyrics ...

''. Hardwick has guest starred on an episode of NBC's ''

Chase Chase or CHASE may refer to: Businesses * Chase Bank, a national American financial institution * Chase UK, a British retail bank * Chase Aircraft (1943–1954), a defunct American aircraft manufacturer * Chase Coaches, a defunct bus operator in ...

'' as Chris Novak, a hard luck criminal facing prison. In 2013, Hardwick was cast in the lead role of James "Ghost" St. Patrick on the

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

- thriller, ''

''. The series ran for six seasons. In 2016, he was featured by South African rapper

Nasty C Nsikayesizwe David Junior Ngcobo (born 11 February 1997), known professionally as Nasty C, is a South African rapper, songwriter, and record producer. After releasing three mixtapes, and two Extended play, EPs, Ngcobo released his debut album ' ...

on a song titled "A Star Is Born". Hardwick co-starred in the

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

'' Sorry to Bother You'', which was released in theaters on July 6, 2018. In July 2019, Hardwick was cast in

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

film ''

''. In January 2021, it was announced that Hardwick was cast as Gordon Oliver in

's thriller series '' Pieces of Her'', which is adapted from the Karin Slaughter novel of the same name. In April 2022, it was announced that Hardwick would star alongside

Marsai Martin Caila Marsai Martin ( ; born August 14, 2004) is an American actress and producer, best known for her role as Diane Johnson on the ABC sitcom ''Black-ish'' (2014–2022). In 2019, Martin had a starring role in the comedy film '' Little'', which ...

and

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling gir ...

in the

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

film '' Fantasy Football'', released on November 25.

Personal life

Hardwick began a relationship with Jennifer "Jae" Pfautch in the 2000s. Pfautch, who is of Native American and German descent, was disowned by her family in the aftermath for dating outside of her race. In 2008, the couple's first child was

stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can often result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. T ...

. Hardwick and Pfautch married in June 2012 and have two children, daughter Nova and son Brave. Hardwick is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Filmography

Films

Television

Music videos

Discography

Singles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardwick, Omari 1974 births Living people 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Savannah, Georgia American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Georgia Bulldogs football players Marist School (Georgia) alumni University of Georgia alumni 21st-century African-American male actors 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors Players of American football from Savannah, Georgia African-American Catholics