Omari Hardwick talked to The Root about his acting career and his role in BET's "Being Mary Jane."

The former NFL hopeful picked up his acting career with the hit TV show and now plays a leading role in Starz' "Power."

Hardwick says a black woman helped him land his first TV gig.

"I went out for 'Saved' to be a crystal meth addict and was only supposed to be in the pilot," he said. "[But] I played [series regular John "Sack" Hallon], a paramedic who was an ex-ball player."

He then landed a role in the movie "Sparkle" that led him to BET's "Being Mary Jane."

Harwick said the late Whitney Houston, who starred in "Sparkle," talked to him about the BET show before it was released.

"I (didn't want to do it) because I felt the character was kind of just meat," he revealed. "...We didn't see him in his workplace, and as a man, you want to do something as an actor that is about work, that's about actually doing something. I didn't feel like he was, but she convinced me that [Andre Daniels] would be an interesting character."

Harwick dished some details about the sex scenes he plays in "Power" and "Being Mary Jane."

"The sex scenes are not a problem, but it is if there's not a story to the sex scenes," he explained. "I am so brave-I mean, I've played homosexual characters, I've done a lot of things that a lot of black actors haven't really done, and I've done it with no apologies."

"Being Mary Jane" is about a beautiful successful black woman formerly known as Pauletta Patterson (Gabrielle Union) who hosts a popular daytime news show, according to BET.

Although she is very good at what she does and seems to have it all, she continues to search for a vibrant love life to no avail. She is in love with Andre (Hardwick) who is a married man and she just cannot let him go.