Omari Hardwick was born on January 9, 1974 to an attorney, Clifford Hardwick IV, and educator, Joyce Hardwick. Omari's family also includes an older brother Malik, younger brother Jamil and sister Shani. Omari grew up in Decatur, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, where he excelled in athletics and established himself an standout individual. From a very early age Omari showed a propensity for acting and fully embraced his unique imagination. While everyone around often witnessed his demonstrations of talent for drama and comedy, it wasn't until his junior year at the University of Georgia that he formally began his acting training. Omari played varsity football for the traditional college powerhouse Georgia Bulldogs. His passion for football however, was equaled by his desire to act and he joined the Athens Theater Company first starring in their rendition of the stage-play "Fences," an adaptation from the book written by August Wilson. Soon after graduating from Georgia and after an an injury cut short his attempt to make it in the NFL, Omari headed to Los Angeles to pursue his other passion.Upon arriving in LA, Omari began working immediately, regularly appearing as extra in TV sitcoms such as "Friends" and "In The House." He then starred in several independent films such "Circles" (2001) and the short "Within the Wall" (2004) as well as stage plays like Levy Lee Simon's "Dessalines" (2002), playwright Michael Heath's surreal "All Good Soldiers in the West End" (2004)and Shelly Garrett's famed stage play "Beauty Shop," the highest grossing stage play in American History, grossing over $150 million. Omari appeared in his first major role as Dante' in Spike Lee's "Sucker Free City" (2005) and followed that appearance up with the motion picture "Beauty Shop" (2005)with Queen Latifah. In 2006 Omari stars alongside Kevin Costner in "The Guardian" and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in "The Gridiron Gang" as well as a TNT original television drama series "Saved."
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