Before Omari Hardwick became known as the good, but sometimes bad guy on the STARZ drama Power, he was a struggling actor trying to make in Hollywood like everyone else.
During a sit down with “The Real’s” Loni Love, Hardwick speaks candidly about his hardships before making it big. As a substitute teacher and football coach, as luck would have it, Hardwick became a mentor to Denzel Washington’s son John David. From there, Hardwick was able to form a relationship with the Academy Award winner and his wife Pauletta.
“They perfectly and appropriately didn’t help me out,” 41 year old said. “They gave me shelter when I didn’t have a place to stay or whatever but they sort of allowed me to be close enough to the family so I sort of transitioned into getting an agent…the whole thing…doing all these odd jobs.”
Hardwick considered becoming a firefighter as a back up, but then turned down a full-time position when Spike Lee offered him his big break in a series titled “Sucker Free City.” Unfortunately, how a lot of Hollywood projects go, the show was never got picked up and Hardwick fell on hard times admitting to showering at a local YMCA and even living in his car.
The actor said it was Pauletta who reached out to him and paid for his car to not get repossessed and as soon as the actor got on his feet, he promptly paid the family back.
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Check out the awesome story of Hardwick’s road to success below.
