There are times when you meet a person and you know instantly they're going to have a big impact on your life for a long time. Omar Benson Miller is one of those people. I had the pleasure of working with Big O on the set of Miracle at St. Anna in Italy back in 2007. With the position I held on set, I was able to work with Omar pretty intimately so a friendship was born away from the camera. The things that impress me the most about him is his passion for the craft, his business sense, intelligence and humor. Simply put, Omar is the total package.
I had a chance to attend a screening for an episode of Omar's new show on the Esquire Network entitled "Weekend Fix." It is a dope travel show for millennials. Omar and his friend Andres, travel the country and build their weekend itineraries through social media interaction. You can see an episode of it here. What I took the most out of the viewing was how much effort and dedication Omar put into seeing his vision executed and distributed. We worked together on a pilot for another show that ran into a lot of roadblocks along the way. It had great potential, but the timing and situation wasn't right. To see him push through that setback and end up with something just as strong with the full commitment from an up and coming network is inspiring. The room for the screening was packed and the positive energy was evident. Omar didn't allow his creative spirit to be deterred and he ended up with a fantastic product with cherished experience. His perseverance has now put him in a position where he can build a strong brand AND pursue even greater artistic endeavors. It just goes to show that character is just as important as talent. Salute and congrats to Big O.
