Omari Hardwick is keeping it one hundred.
The actor spoke about his career and success during a guest appearance on The Pivot podcast.
Omari said he didn’t feel successful until he landed his star role in Power. However, getting there wasn’t easy, and he still felt held back financially when the series started. He spoke on earning $150,000 per episode but felt his salary didn’t match up. Omari said,
“I still haven’t made what I should have made. I still never made the money—no, the money, I never made what I should have made. Never. Period. It’s happening now, finally.”
Omari spoke more on financial challenges earlier in Power days. After the first two seasons, Omari explained he had to borrow money from 50 Cent. The “Ghost” actor on Power said, “He gave me $20,000, and the next summer, he gave me $23,000. He might like them more than me. It was absolutely given in a way of, like, you know, take care of the family bro, use that.” Omari pointed out he paid 50 back “with interest”. He didn’t say how much. He said,
“I think he forever just really really respects the shit out of me for that, we just not taught that in our community. Barely do we pay anybody back. So once we’re hit up for money, and I am financially obviously stable at this point, once we’re hit up for money we don’t expect it back. … So for me to give it back to 50 with interest, I was just so proud to be able to do that. And it was early! He felt like, ‘Damn, you can’t be messed up, you need money!’” Check out a clip:
Early in Omari’s acting career, he played minor roles in the 2005 Beauty Shop and the 2012 Sparkle. Power premiered in 2014, and that’s when Omari got his big acting break, starring as Ghost St. Patrick. His character died in the final season in 2020.
Omari appeared in recent films like Sorry to Bother You, Army of the Dead, and more. Would you like to see Omari get cast in other roles? Let us know!