Omari Hardwick

Hardwick was born in Savannah, Georgia, the son of Joyce and Clifford Hardwick III, an attorney. He is one of four siblings. Growing up in Decatur, Georgia, Hardwick wrote poetry on a regular basis, and participated in many sports. In high school, he attended Marist School in Brookhaven, Georgia where he played baseball, basketball and football. He later enrolled at the University of Georgia on a football scholarship. Hardwick continued acting and writing poetry, minoring in theater. In 1996, he pledged and became a member of the Zeta Pi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.After graduation, Hardwick initially pursued a career in football, hoping to join the San Diego Chargers. He declared himself for the NFL Draft, where he was not selected, and eventually returned to acting.

As a struggling actor, Hardwick did odd jobs in order to pay for acting classes and started living in his car. In 2002, Hardwick was an extra in Floetry's "Say Yes" music video. From 2003 to 2004, he participated in the National Poetry Slam competition, placing top 5 overall. Hardwick finally got his break in the 2004 TV movie Sucker Free City. In 2006, he booked a role in the feature film The Guardian and appeared as a series regular in the TV show Saved, which required he spend two years training as a fireman and a paramedic.

In 2010, Hardwick became a founding member of "Plan B Inc. Theater Group", and a co-founder of "Actor's Lounge" at the Los Angeles Greenway Theater. He also founded production company "Bravelife Films". Hardwick was also featured in the urban lifestyle publication, Prominence Magazine for its Holiday issue.

In 2011, Hardwick received his best film reviews to date for his role as "Troy" in the critically acclaimed indie hit I Will Follow. Hardwick has guest starred on an episode of NBC's Chase as Chris Novak, a hard luck criminal facing prison.

In 2013, Hardwick was cast in the lead role of James "Ghost" St. Patrick on the Starz crime drama-thriller, Power. The series ran for six seasons.

In 2016, he was featured by South African rapper Nasty C on a song titled "A Star Is Born".

Hardwick co-starred in the science fiction comedy film Sorry to Bother You, which was released in theaters on July 6, 2018.

In July 2019, Hardwick was cast in Zack Snyder's Netflix film Army of the Dead.

In January 2021, it was announced that Hardwick was cast as Gordon Oliver in Netflix's thriller series Pieces of Her, which is adapted from the Karin Slaughter novel of the same name.

In April 2022, it was announced that Hardwick would star alongside Marsai Martin and Kelly Rowland in the Paramount+ film Fantasy Football, released on November 25.