'Power' Actor Omari Hardwick Says God Wanted Him to Star in Crime Drama
Actor Omari Hardwick says if it weren't for God, he might not have accepted a role in the Starz hit series "Power" that was nominated for a People's Choice Award last week.
"Power" has been nominated for a 2017 People's Choice Award, the entertainment award show that allows fans to vote for their favorites in movies, television shows and music. After it was announced that "Power" was nominated for Favorite Premium Drama Series, Hardwick took to social media to reflect on his role as "Ghost."
According to Hardwick, it took some prayer and leaning on God to convince the once homeless actor to take on the character of drug dealer James "Ghost" St. Patrick.
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"Truth is: I was hesitant to say yes to this show initially. Perhaps it truly was an example of what it looks like when we run from our call, in this case ... mine-to be of high stature in this business," Hardwick wrote in an Instagram message.
"I was cool with the decade of work being one where my craft and presence played its part. Between the 45 days of prayer from a one @mrsjaeh asking God to 'help me embrace my Power and Dominion' (yes, that word: power), and sitting down even a month after THAT with a one @ckagbohofficial and then talking to a one @50cent. ... God had answered that prayer and spoke to me."
The actor was raised in a household where his father attended the Methodist Episcopal Church and his mother was Catholic. The football player-turned-actor alternated between his parents' churches each Sunday growing up, and says he has maintained his faith in God in his career.
During an interview with Indie Wire, Hardwick said he often goes to God for guidance in his acting career.
"I began to ask myself the question, 'what does God want me to do with my life,'" he recalled. "I kept on hearing the voice of God saying, if you are going to be the minister that your mom mentioned ... then you have to act. My pulpit is acting."
Hardwick's "Power" co-star Naturi Naughton, who plays the wife of drug dealer James "Ghost" St. Patrick, has said that she often feels conflicted about being a Christian and filming some of the show's racy scenes.
"I'm not going to say it's always easy, it is a bit of an inner conflict sometimes because I want to make sure that people know that I have so much respect for myself, my community, my church home," she told The Christian Post. "That's why doing films like 'Let the Church Say Amen' are important to me because going from 'Power' it just shows the diversity of the type of actor that I am. We are not these characters in real life."
