Omar Miller has had a plethora of memorable roles on film and television, including CSI: Miami, HBO’s Ballers, Miracle at St. Anna, and 8 Mile. After recently joining the cast of CBS’ The Unicorn, the actor shared past experiences and plans for an even brighter future.
One of the most admirable things about your career is how your roles tend to lean toward characters who showcase their intellect and compassion versus being the stereotypical big scary Black guy. Tell us about your role selection process.
That’s not an accident. Every actor has to make a decision about the roles they play, and unfortunately at times financial scenarios play a role in that. I like to give the benefit of a doubt to some people as far as why they chose to play certain roles. I have been blessed that I have been able to get and choose characters that have some kind of dignity involved with them. It was important to me, coming out of college, to stay away from stereotypes. I don’t mean that every character I play has to be some type of boy scout. But I would like the representation of myself and my community to have some redeeming qualities. It goes back to that theory that there is even a right way of doing wrong.
Do you feel that studying film at San Jose State University better prepared you in pursuing your career as opposed to people approaching it through other ways?
The cool thing about this industry is that there is no one route and there is no direct route. I’ve had some great professors who emphasized to me the importance of learning the great craft of acting. It put me in a position to really place my energy and my focus on that to learn what I was doing. It helped to advance me to a certain level, as much as you can be, to already be prepared before you get on a set. There are still certain things you can only learn when you are on the job. I was at the point, due to my training, that I was already confident to adjust from that point.
You have played a very wide and diverse range of characters. What would you say have been your favorites?
I loved playing Sam Train in Miracle at St. Anna. I loved working with Spike Lee. I grew up watching his films. I like that the film introduced me to Europe in ways that I didn’t know. We lived over there for several months while making the film. Now I frequently travel there. It also opened my eyes to the global power of cinema, and there are a lot of different elements involved. I loved playing that role.
I also loved playing Walter Simmons on CSI: Miami because that was my first serious regular role that was on for a while. To jump on a show that was the biggest show in the world and for the fans to embrace me as if I had been there from the beginning was really cool… He was a Black man involved with law enforcement instead of in opposition, using his mind to solve crimes. I love that.
That character was a great thing to see because it showed a wide spectrum of possibilities for young Black men.
That is exactly what I’m going for. As Black people, we are layered in dynamics. It is unfortunate that many layers are not often represented. Some layers are represented more frequently than others when it comes to television. I have been very cognizant to make sure that some of those more positive options are presented to people in the audience.
A lot of people were very relieved your character Charles didn’t die on HBO’s Ballers. It would have been as disappointing as the end of Game of Thrones.
I’m not a Game of Thrones dude, but the people I know who are fans were very disappointed in the ending (laughing). The pressure didn’t take Charles under. It was only a setback to set him up for the comeback.
Let’s talk about your character on the new show, The Unicorn.
This is another opportunity that came about because of previous work. I worked with Walter Goggins on Miracle in St. Anna and Rob Corddry on Ballers, as you know, and I worked with CBS on CSI: Miami. When the script landed on my desk, I felt it was a great opportunity to shift gears. Things can sometimes be over-the-top vulgar on cable television. I wanted the challenge of being on network television, where you have to keep it clean, but it doesn’t have to stop you from being funny. I feel the show is very explorative in very interesting parts of life and society because of how we as people deal with grief and loss. I lost one of my brothers three years ago.
In the show, the title character, played by Goggins, has lost his wife. It focuses on how the people around him help him put the pieces back together. It has a personal element to me that meant something. I play a character named Ben, who, among the lead’s other close friends, is trying to help him regain purpose in his life while exploring the ins and outs of marriage and parenthood in our situations. It has been an interesting thing. I think you will see a future episode that focuses on my character. I believe that the writers have done a fantastic job fleshing out the characters and giving us something great to work with. It has been a great experience so far, and it’s great to be back on network television. More people will see a rerun of a popular show on television than a body of work on cable. The reach of network television is crazy.
You have our condolences for your loss.
Thank you, brother. It’s been a while. It’s all good.
There is so much to love in the way you and Maya Lynne Robinson portray Black family dynamics in such an honest, yet entertaining way.
I am going to pass that on to Ms. Maya Lynn. That’s what we are going for.
The way you two engage is very real and is reminiscent of a lot of Black family household experiences.
Here’s the thing: I try to base all of my characters’ engagements in some kind of reality, and I have been able to do that while maintaining their entertainment value. In this situation, we are having a good time doing exactly that. We are showing all kinds of stuff.
Be’n Original
