Actor Michael K. Williams died earlier this month. He was 54 years old. He was best known for playing Omar Little on The Wire. Michael began his career in entertainment first as a dancer in New York, then an actor with a handful of walk-on credits. By the time he auditioned for The Wire he was in his mid-30s. When Jesse Thorn talked with him in 2016, he was starring in a show called Hap and Leonard. When we heard the news about Williams' passing, we went into the archives to listen back to our conversation. There's some stuff you might've heard in the past, a lot of stuff you haven't.

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Remembering Michael K. Williams

Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture. Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney's, which called it "the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world."

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Steve Buscemi! The best ever. The actor, director and producer joins Bullseye to talk about dying on screen dozens of times, and how his father shaped his career in the civil services and encouraged him to pursue acting. We'll look back on the first ever movie he acted in – one that ended up being a pivotal moment in the history of American queer cinema. Plus, he'll talk to us about trying his hand at stand-up as an eighteen year old kid from Long Island.

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Actor & Director Steve Buscemi

DJ Quik is one of the most prolific figures in West Coast hip-hop. He's a great rapper, but he's always considered himself a producer first, crafting some of the most inventive samples and beats of the genre. This summer, DJ Quik joins fellow legends Warren G and Snoop Dogg for a tour across that great nation to the North on the Cali to Canada Tour. When Quik joined Bullseye in 2014, he talked about the method behind his sampling and his awesome, awesome hairstyles over the years.

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DJ Quik

Keita Takahashi is a video game creator and designer. He's responsible for the classic genre defining puzzle game Katamari Damacy. Keita Takahashi has a new game coming out soon. It's called to a T and it's about a child whose arms stick straight out like a "T". We talked with Keita Takahashi about how he got into designing video games and how he pitched the idea for Katamari Damacy to the folks at Namco. He also talks with us about his new game, to a T.

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Video game creator Keita Takahashi

Alison Brie is the star of beloved television shows Community, Mad Men and BoJack Horseman. She joins us on the latest episode of Bullseye to talk about her latest: Apples Never Fall. We get into her time growing up in South Pasadena and what she learned about herself while working on the physically demanding wrestling tv series GLOW. Does she think the long-awaited Community movie is actually happening? Only one way to find out!

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Alison Brie

Paula Pell spent 18 years behind the scenes as a writer on Saturday Night Live. These days, you can see her on Girls5Eva–a sitcom about a 90s girl group that reunites today. She plays Gloria, the queer elder of the group making the most of their second wind. When she joined the show back in 2019, Pell starred in Wine Country alongside a few SNL legends. She also gave us an insider's view on some of her more controversial work on the late-night comedy staple.

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Remembering Michael K. Williams

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