Omari Hardwick, who portrayed the legendary James ‘Ghost’ St. Patrick from 2014-2020 in the television family crime drama “Power”, was a recent guest on Sherri Shepard’s daytime talk show “Sherri”. Hardwick was beaming while promoting his acting accomplishments as well as his first 2025 Best Spoken Word Grammy nomination for his work on the poetry album “cOncrete & wHiskey Act II Part 1: A Bourbon 30 Series”.
In the interview hotseat that aired on Jan. 22nd, 2025, Hardwick told Shepard he was thrilled to now be part of the Star Trek universe due to his portrayal of Alok Sahar in the Paramount+ new movie “Star Trek: Section 31”. Hardwick assured any non-Trekkies in the audience that they did not have to know Star Trek canon to enjoy Section 31.
Despite the usually serious and intense roles that Hardwick tends to play, he was quite relaxed and self-aware of his female fans. At one moment, with levity, Hardwick stood up to show Shepard he wore a t-shirt with the words "Holy Ghost" in honor of her fandom of his "Ghost" character.
Hardwick and Shepard went on to compare notes on how Queen Latifah had inspired both of them early on in their careers when they starred together in the hit movie "Beauty Shop". Harwick went on to say that his middle name is "Latif" and, "there is no bigger Queen than La-ti-fah and she told me – long journey ahead… just one step at a time…”
Hardwick believes representation is important
Hardwick went on to speak about representation and he wants to be a positive image for young boys and girls that look like him and to be part of the Star Trek universe he’s extremely proud of! Hardwick went on to praise the producers of Star Trek: Section 31 who recognized the benefits of tapping into Hardwick's "Ghost" fan base to encourage them [Hardwick's "Ghost" fan base] to also be part of and fans a new genre in the beloved fantasy franchise that is the Star Trek universe.
Hardwick further expressed how he understands his legacy in the Star Trek universe was fostered by the likes of Avery Brooks, Levar Burton, and Nichelle Nichols and he gets to go to Comicon, "I get to bring home a bag, NOT of cash…but of fan-ship!"
Hardwick parents named him “Omari” meaning “most high” and from the looks of his career and his role in "Section 31" and a new role in Zack Snyder's "Planet of the Dead" (sequel to "Army of the Dead", currently in pre-production) he's certainly on track for a career "most high!"