Omari Hardwick Says He Was Almost Rejected From A Role for an Incredible Reason
For six years, Starz’s drama series Power was the number one show on the network, and often, it was one of the top series on the Starz network. Though actor Omari Hardwick had starred in several films prior to Power including, Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere and Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna, the series thrust him into the spotlight in a new way.
Now that Power has come to an end, Hardwick has been focused on his new projects including his upcoming roles in Spell and Netflix’s Army of the Dead. However, the actor is now revealing that he was almost rejected from a role because of an incredible reason.
‘Power’ followed Omari Hardwick’s character James ‘Ghost’ St. Patrick
The long-running drama series may have come to an end, but it has already spawned several spinoffs including Power: Book II. Though the new series follows Tarik St. Patrick (Michael Rainey Jr.), the first series is all about his father, Ghost.
When we first meet James St. Patrick, he’s a hardworking club owner and married father of three. However, we soon learn that he lives an alternative life as a drug kingpin named Gost helming an organization that he runs with his best friend, Tommy (Joseph Sikora).
When James begins an affair with his high school sweetheart, Angela Valdez (Lela Loren), who just happens to be a criminal prosecutor — his two worlds begin to bleed together.
Ghost was never going to survive ‘Power’
According to series creator, Courtney A. Kemp, Ghost was never going to be able to survive, Power. In fact, Kemp revealed that she initially wanted to kill off the character in Season 3. But, since Hardwick was so good in the series, she kept him around until the last possible moment.
“I wanted it to be that Ghost made choices that led to that,” she told Deadline. “That he made all the right choices except for his family, which is so key and important for people who are successful.”
In the end, Ghost is murdered by his wife, Tasha (Naturi Naughton), and his son Tarik is left to navigate his life on his own.
Omari Hardwick was almost rejected from a role because he was ‘too good looking’
Though we always associate Hardwick as Ghost and think of Joe’s “Big Rich Town” when we see him, he almost didn’t snag a role that would eventually lead to his success on Power. During a recent episode of TV One’s Uncensored, Hardwick revealed that he was initially rejected from the role because he was, “too good looking.”
When working with a new agent back in 2006, he auditioned for a role in Gridiron Gang. However, he was passed over. “I got Gridiron on a Wednesday after the casting director originally said Omari is too good-looking to play the part,” he revealed. “I thought that was the craziest thing I’d ever heard.”
In order to snag the part, the D is for Detroit actor got a second auction where he came in looking a bit rougher, tricking the casting directors who did not recognize him.
