'The Wire' Star Michael K. Williams Died Of Accidental Overdose

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Michael K. Williams, the award-winning actor who rose to stardom for his portrayal of robber-turned-vigilante Omar Little on the HBO series "The Wire," died of an accidental overdose.

Williams, 54, was found dead inside his Brooklyn home earlier this month.

The actor's death was the result of "acute intoxication" from a mixture of fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, heroin and cocaine, according to the New York City Chief Medical Examiner's Office, which ruled the manner of death accidental.

Citing sources within the New York Police Department, CBS News reports police found Williams dead in his living room Sept. 6. According to a Variety report, he was "surrounded by narcotics."

Williams was candid about his drug use over the years, telling The New York Times in 2017 that he used cocaine frequently during his turn as Freddy Knight in the "The Night Of."

"The characters that mean the most to me are the ones that damn near kill me," Williams said at the time. "It's a sacrifice I've chosen to make."

Williams was perhaps best known for his role as Little, a shotgun-wielding robber with a poetic sense of justice and a love of Honey Nut Cheerios, whose whistle alone sent drug dealers scrambling for cover.

Besides his role in "The Wire," the actor was remembered for playing Chalky White, an illiterate gangster, on HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" set in Prohibition-era Atlantic City, New Jersey.