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

Power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

'' and his role as Vanderohe in

Zack Snyder Zachary Edward Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with '' Dawn of the Dead'', a remake of the 1978 horror film of the same name. Since t ...

's '' Army of the Dead'' (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, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

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

Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of the Madea character, a tough elderly woman. Perry's films vary in style from orthodox filmma ...

'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 produced by Tyler Perry, the film featu ...

'' (2010) and as Andre in BET Network's ''

Being Mary Jane ''Being Mary Jane'' is an American drama television series created by Mara Brock Akil and starring Gabrielle Union, that debuted January 7, 2014 on BET. The 90-minute-pilot for the series aired on July 2, 2013. The series follows the professiona ...

''.

Early life and education

Hardwick was born in Savannah, Georgia, the son of Joyce and Clifford Hardwick III, an attorney. Growing up in Decatur, Georgia, Hardwick wrote poetry on a regular basis, and participated in many sports. For high school he attended Marist School in Brookhaven, Georgia where he played baseball, basketball and football and attended

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

on a football scholarship. Even though he was a star on the field, Hardwick continued in acting and poetry, and thus minored in theater.

Career

After graduation, Hardwick initially pursued a career in football, hoping to join the San Diego Chargers. He declared himself for the NFL Draft, where he was not selected, after which he returned to acting. As a struggling actor, Hardwick did odd jobs in order to pay for acting classes. After being unsuccessful, he started living in his car, and he finally got his break in the 2004 TV movie ''

Sucker Free City ''Sucker Free City'' is a 2004 television film directed by Spike Lee. The film examines white, black, and Chinese characters in San Francisco and the conflicts they encounter with each other. The film was intended to be the pilot for a Showtime ...

''. Next, he booked roles in the feature film ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and a series regular role in '' Saved''. For the role, he spent two years training as a fireman and a paramedic. In 2002, Hardwick had a quick scene as an extra in Floetry's "Say Yes" music video. In 2003 and 2004, he participated award-winningly in the

National Poetry Slam The National Poetry Slam (NPS) is 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 occurs in early August every year an ...

. 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 ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

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

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

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

- thriller, ''

''. In 2016, he was featured by a 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, one being "Undisputed" and two EPs, Ngcobo released his debu ...

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

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

Sorry to Bother You ''Sorry to Bother You'' is a 2018 American surrealist black comedy film written and directed by Boots Riley, in his directorial debut. It stars Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick, Terry Crews, Patton Oswalt, Dav ...

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

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

film '' Army of the Dead''. 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 Karin Slaughter (born January 6, 1971) is an American crime writer. She has written 21 novels, which have sold more than 40 million copies and have been published in 120 countries. Her first novel, ''Blindsighted'' (2001), was published in 27 l ...

novel of the same name. In April 2022, it was announced that Hardwick would star alongside Marsai Martin 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 best-selling girl groups of all time. During the gr ...

in the

Paramount+ Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...

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 result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The ter ...

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

Filmography

Films

Television

Music videos

References

External links

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