Community Taps The Wire's Michael K. Williams to Teach Biology
Michael K. Williams
Omar Little is coming to Greendale. The Wire's Michael K. Williams has been tapped to recur on Community's third season as the study group's new biology professor.
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Williams, who is best known for playing The Wire's Omar, the stick-up boy with a strong moral code, will appear in at least three episodes. His character takes his first teaching job at Greendale after recently being released from prison, where he earned his degree in biology.
Williams' casting is part of what creator Dan Harmon says is an effort to ground the show a bit this season.
"We've had all these crazy teacher characters," Harmon says. "They're so dedicated to their profession that they're kind of nuts or they're off the deep end. So, the next logical place to go on that playing field is a deeply intense character. I want to use that as a comedic tool.
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"He's going to be very dignified guy in a way that has no presentation to it," Harmon continues. "He studies life and he wants to help other people study it, but he doesn't have any affectation beyond that. He's not trying to prove anything. He's just a very intense person."
Besides his work on The Wire, Williams has recurred on such series as Alias and Six Degrees. He currently plays as Chalky White on HBO's Boardwalk Empire.
Community's third season premieres Thursday, Sept. 22 at 8/7c.