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The Wire launched the careers of numerous acclaimed actors, including the late Michael K. Williams. Not only did it make many of the stars notably rich, but it made them renowned actors. This is because David Simon's HBO series was rich in meaning, drama, and spectacle, and it's ultimately been considered to be one of the great series ever written.
In an oral history of The Wire by WAMC, a few of the most beloved stars revealed how the series changed their lives in profound ways...
How Playing Walon Changed Steven Earle's Life
Steven Earle, who is also a musician, played recovering addict Walon for only eight episodes, but he made a huge impact on the audience. The Wire's creator David Simon was a huge music fan and used one of Steven's songs in a limited series he did. The two became friendly and when David started writing The Wire, he called up Steven's manager and offered him the part of Walon.
"[The role] required zero acting, which is the reason I had, you know, only a small amount of trepidation about doing it," Steven said during his interview with WAMC.
While his character was only sprinkled throughout the series, Steven claimed that he's constantly recognized for it. But more importantly, fans tell him what the show really means to them.
"It's an amazing—a lot of people think it's just the best show that's ever been on television. You'd be amazed how many people believe that how many people say it and it's all over the world. So, I learned a lot from doing it. And you know what, it's brought a few people that my music that never listened to before. So, it's hard to complain about it."
Playing Detective Bunk Moreland Gave Wendell Pierce A New Perspective
The character of Detective Bunk Moreland is actually based on a real retired police detective in Baltimore named Oscar Requer. In preparation for his role, Wendell spent a lot of time with Oscar (who he considers family) as well as many of the sergeants in the homicide division.
This gave him a greater understanding of how things worked as well as gave him a different perspective on the real-life history of police brutality in Baltimore.
"[I] thought of them in the recent, you know, uprising that was happening in Baltimore especially," Wendell Pierce said. "The first thing people had to think of was all those issues that we brought up in ‘The Wire’ over those seven years that we worked on, in the five seasons that we produced, were the same issues that were coming to a head [now]. And I thought of those specifically Black protectors on the police force, who became policemen because the crime and the violence in that neighborhood reduced by only 1% was not reflective of the good people in the neighborhood. And that's why they became police officers."
"The community also puts that challenge to the police officers if you became a policeman because you feel as though this neighborhood is of great value, don't allow the few to ruin the relationship because of their behavior within your ranks as police officers. And that's what the community was saying back to the police officers this summer in real life."
Wendell continued by praising how the show reflected these very real issues.
"It's not just a piece of entertainment, it's something of great substance and importance. And that dialogue, once you create a character, is something that you always go back to because it's the humanity that we all share, that we reflect on, when we consider all the issues that we bring up in a piece of art that we created. And so, the character of Bunk that I created, I constantly reflect on because I think of the men that helped me create it, like Sergeant Darryl Massey, and the original Bunk, Oscar Requer, because they root me in the reality of those issues that are so profoundly important to act on today, especially in Baltimore."
Benjamin Busch Could See His Own Life In Officer Anthony Colicchio
"When I came back from my first tour in Iraq, the first audition I had was for Officer Anthony Colicchio on ‘The Wire’ on HBO," Benjamin Busch said to WAMC.
"[Anthony Colicchio] was a very frustrated police officer but at the same time, he was someone who had an uncompromising sense of justice. That's why he was frustrated. He was seeing things black and white in Baltimore, which is a city of gray, the police are cheating, the criminals are cheating, and he couldn't stand any of it."
Benjamin could see fragments of Anthony's journey in his own life.
"It was coming from a war which had been entirely gray, which as a Marine, you hope is a noble mission. And that was compromised very early. So, I think all these experiences feed into your performances and your performances feed back into your life," he admitted. "I think there's some truth in Tony Colicchio for me."
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