Actor Omari Hardwick rocketed to global fame when he portrayed the underwold kingpin James “Ghost” St. Patrick on the riveting cable series “Power.”
However, Hardwick had the most humble of beginnings while trying to break into the business. It just happened to be a stroke of serendipity that, when Hardwick attended an almost all-white school in Atlanta, he met and connected with another kid who was directed connected to living legend Denzel Washington.
“It was another kid who really took to me and his name was John David Washington and John David Washington turned out to be Pauletta Washington and Denzel Washington’s son,” Hardwick said on TV One’s “Uncensored.”
After Hardwick and Washington connected, he eventually formed a strong bond with his parents, Denzel and Pauletta Washington. The matriarch joked to Hardwick that she could not take in another Capricorn into her home.
“At that point, I knew that Denzel was a Capricorn. It was just a joke because she took me in like like nobody’s business. She became my mom away from my mom,” Hardwick said. “She became so much to me so we got super close. And I was broke and then Pauletta and Denzel eventually let me couch in their house sometimes. I would just be just be over there just for peace and spirit. Pauletta has such an incredible spirit, and energy…”
While trying to break into the business, the Washingtons allowed Hardwick to crash on their couch on occasion.
Moreover, the Washington parents helped Hardwick with some pocket money from time to time given he was a struggling actor. Finally, Hardwick’s big break came 16 years ago when he landed a role on the 2004 show called “Sucker Free.”
“John David and I got super, super, super close and still to this day… So during that time I was all excited to go back to them with that news, you know that ‘Sucker Free’ was something that was going to make it where I didn’t need to borrow money from them anymore and I never did. But they definitely gave me $1,500 when the car was about to be repoed.”
Flip the page to check out Hardwick’s complete testimony on TV One’s “Uncensored.”
