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The Wire Characters
The following is a listing of fictional characters from the HBO series, ''The Wire''. Note that some characters' allegiances or positions may have changed over time; and, although the series has ended, the placement below is generally meant to reflect their most recent situation. Also, some specific plot lines may be revealed in a character's description. Appearances Main cast Recurring cast The Law Law enforcement is an integral part of ''The Wire'' and characters in this field range from those enforcing the law at street level to those setting laws citywide. The Street Those involved in drug dealing and drug addicts alike are featured. Thieves and sex workers are also featured. The Docks Stevedores, their families, and the criminal organization that is involved in the smuggling through the Baltimore docks are featured. The Politicians Both honest and corrupt state and city officials depicted in the series are included in this section. The Schools Pupils, staff and emp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered on June 2, 2002, and ended on March 9, 2008, comprising List of The Wire episodes, 60 episodes over five seasons. The idea for the show started out as a police drama loosely based on the experiences of Simon's writing partner Ed Burns, a former homicide detective and public school teacher. Set and produced in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, ''The Wire'' introduces a different institution of the city and its relationship to law enforcement in each season while retaining characters and advancing storylines from previous seasons. The five subjects are, in chronological order; the illegal drug trade, the port system, the city government and bureaucracy, education and schools, and the print news medium. Simon chose to set the show in Baltimore b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avon Barksdale
Avon Randolph Barksdale is a fictional character in the American television series ''The Wire'', played by Wood Harris. Barksdale is one of the most powerful drug dealers in Baltimore, Maryland, and runs the Barksdale Organization. Stringer Bell, his second in command, insulates Barksdale from law enforcement and potential enemies. Working for Barksdale and Bell is a large organization of drug dealers and enforcers. Accepting nothing less than absolute power, Barksdale is shrewd and intuitive, although not as cerebral as Bell. Barksdale is partly based on a real-life gang leader who ran a drug dealing operation in West Baltimore. He is the main antagonist of the first season. Biography Criminal organization As of season 1, Avon remains a furtive but increasingly powerful force within West Baltimore's drug trade. His territory includes both the Franklin Terrace housing project and a nearby low-rise project referred to as "the Pit". Avon runs the organization with his second-i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Ben-Victor
Paul Ben-Victor (born ) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Greek mobster Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'', Alan Gray in '' Entourage'' (2005–2008), and Ray in '' Body Parts'' (1991). Early life Ben-Victor was born in New York City, the son of Victor and Leah Friedman. He is Jewish. He grew up in Flatbush, Brooklyn, where he attended Midwood High School before graduating from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where he studied theater. Career Ben-Victor debuted on the small screen in 1987 in the television film ''Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife'' and on an episode of '' Cagney & Lacey''. Ben-Victor has been featured on many television cop dramas like ''FBI'', ''Monk'' and '' CSI'', and also had a recurring role as two-bit con man Steve Richards on three episodes of ''NYPD Blue'' from 1994 to 1997. He also appeared as Steve Richards on a 1998 episode of the short-lived police drama '' Brooklyn South''. Ben-Vict ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Sobotka
Francis "Frank" Sobotka is a fictional character in of the HBO drama ''The Wire (TV series), The Wire'', played by the actor Chris Bauer. Plot Frank is a respected Polish-American treasurer for the International Brotherhood of Stevedores at the Baltimore docks. As the ''pater familias'' for the docks' longshoremen population, he manages the finances of the labor union and ensures that workers are taken care of—a task made harder by the decline of the local shipping industry and lack of available hours. In Episode 6, Sobotka lobbies the Maryland state government to promote more employment at the Baltimore shipyards through grants to improve the port. Yet the power of the International Brotherhood of Stevedores (IBS), Sobotka's union, was already diminished. With union membership down, the IBS collaborated with smugglers to offset some of its lost revenue.Warren (2011), pp. 201202. Desperate to return prosperity to the docks, he begins making overtures to lobbyists and poli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Bauer
Chris Bauer is an American actor. He is best known for his television work in ''The Wire'', '' Third Watch'', '' True Blood'', '' Survivor's Remorse,'' '' The Deuce'', and the Apple TV+ original science fiction space drama series ''For All Mankind''. He has also appeared on Broadway, as Mitch in '' A Streetcar Named Desire'', and has originated roles in plays by David Mamet, John Patrick Shanley and Jez Butterworth. Early life and education Bauer is of German and Irish descent. He attended Miramonte High School in Orinda, California, and played on the Miramonte football team in his senior year, 1984, the year the team won the state championship. Later, he attended the University of San Diego and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and graduated from the Yale School of Drama. Career Television Bauer has starred in numerous television series including ''The Wire'', as port- union boss Frank Sobotka. He initially auditioned for the role of Jimmy McNulty. He also starr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kima Greggs
Shakima "Kima" Greggs is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actress Sonja Sohn. Greggs is a determined and capable police detective in the Baltimore Police Department. Openly lesbian, she often displays a hardened, cynical demeanor, and has had problems with infidelity, alcohol, and relationships. She plays a key role in all of her BPD details' main cases. Character biography Season 1 Shakima "Kima" Greggs is a narcotics detective working alongside Herc and Carver, under the command of Cedric Daniels in Major Foerster's narcotics division. She outshines her colleagues on several occasions, earning high esteem from them due to her abilities. Kima lives with her partner Cheryl, a broadcast journalist, who has pressured Kima into studying pre-law. After D'Angelo Barksdale's acquittal, Kima is assigned to the Avon Barksdale detail and made lead detective by Daniels. She cultivates a relationship with Bubbles, a drug addict with an extraordinary m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sonja Sohn
Sonja Denise Plack (' Williams), known professionally as Sonja Sohn, (born May 9, 1964) is an American actress, filmmaker, and activist, best known for portraying Baltimore detective Kima Greggs in the HBO drama ''The Wire'' (2002–2008). She is also known for having starred in the 1998 independent film '' Slam'', which she co-wrote, and appearing as Samantha Baker in the ABC series ''Body of Proof''. She is also the founder and CEO of the Baltimore-based outreach program, reWIRED for Change, which focuses on the rehabilitation of at-risk youth who have engaged in criminal behavior. Early life and education Sohn was born Sonja Denise Williams in Fort Benning, Georgia. Her mother was Korean and her father was Black. Her parents met when her father was stationed in South Korea after the Korean War. She attended and graduated from Warwick High School in Newport News, Virginia. Career Williams became professionally known as Sonja Sohn. Before she was an actress, Sohn was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bubbles (The Wire)
Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Andre Royo. Bubbles is a recovering heroin addict. His real name is not revealed until a fourth-season episode when he is called "Mr. Cousins" and in the fifth-season premiere when he is called "Reginald". Bubbles has a son named KeyShawn, who lives with his mother. He is nicknamed "Bubbles" because when he is in a heroin-induced stupor, he tends to make bubbles with his spit. Bubbles is a crucial police informant throughout the series due to his extraordinarily detailed knowledge of the streets of Baltimore and their inhabitants. Bubbles is an intelligent and compassionate man who genuinely cares about his friend Johnny Weeks and Sherrod, the teenager he informally adopts. Bubbles's struggle to deal with his addiction and make a better life for himself is a major sub-plot over the course of the series. Depiction Season one Bubbles is first seen as a homeless addict and best friend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andre Royo
Andre Royo (born July 18, 1968) is an American actor, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins on the HBO crime drama series ''The Wire'', and his appearances on ''Fringe'', '' Party Down'', '' How to Make It in America'', and the 2013 film ''The Spectacular Now''. Royo also appeared as Lucious Lyon's defense attorney Thirsty Rawlings on the FOX drama series ''Empire''. Personal life Royo was born in the borough of the Bronx in New York City on July 18, 1968, and is of African-American and Cuban heritage. According to Royo, in auditions he had been told by some casting directors that he was "not Black enough" or "not Latino enough" for certain parts. Royo attended Mount Saint Michael Academy in The Bronx from 1982 until 1986. Royo is married to Jane Choi and they have one daughter named Stella. Career Royo made his acting debut in a minor role in the 1998 film '' L.A. Without a Map''. In 1999, he made one-episode guest appearances on t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cedric Daniels
Cedric Daniels is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', portrayed by Lance Reddick. Daniels is well-regarded in the Baltimore Police Department for making his subordinates focus on decent police work and quality arrests. He occasionally has disagreements with higher-ranking officers but for the most part performs well, and has thereby gained a reputation as both a reliable commander and an above-average investigator within the force, in stark contrast to some of his superiors and peers, most of whom display varying degrees of corruption and unreliability. Daniels was investigated by the FBI for corruption prior to the start of the series. By the end of the series, he rises through the ranks to police commissioner but resigns after refusing a political request to manipulate crime statistics. As a result, he starts a new career as a criminal defense lawyer. Biography Season 1 Daniels was the lieutenant of the Baltimore Police Department's Narcotics Unit, and the sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lance Reddick
Lance Solomon Reddick (June 7, 1962 – March 17, 2023) was an American actor. He portrayed Cedric Daniels in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), List of Fringe characters#Phillip Broyles, Phillip Broyles in ''Fringe (TV series), Fringe'' (2008–2013), and Chief Irvin Irving in ''Bosch (TV series), Bosch'' (2014–2020). In film, he played Charon in the ''John Wick'' franchise (2014–2025) and General Caulfield in ''White House Down'' (2013). He also portrayed Oz (TV series)#Johnny Basil, Detective Johnny Basil in the fourth season of ''Oz (TV series), Oz'', Matthew Abaddon in ''Lost (TV series), Lost'' (2004–2010), Albert Wesker and his clones in the Netflix series ''Resident Evil (TV series), Resident Evil'' (2022), and Zeus in ''Percy Jackson and the Olympians (TV series), Percy Jackson and the Olympians'' (2024), the latter of which was released posthumously and earned him a Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Performer nomination. He provided the voice ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bunk Moreland
William "Bunk" Moreland is a fictional character in ''The Wire'', played by Wendell Pierce. Bunk's character is based on a retired Baltimore detective named Oscar "The Bunk" Requer. He is portrayed as a generally competent, if profane and curmudgeonly detective. Like his best friend Jimmy McNulty, he also has problems related to infidelity and alcohol abuse, although he is more mindful than McNulty of the department's chain of command. Casting According to series creator David Simon, Pierce was cast immediately after completing his audition for the part. In Jonathan Abrams' book ''All the Pieces Matter'', about the process of making ''The Wire'', Simon described Pierce's state of mind at the audition: "He was really pissed off. He had gotten in an argument with a cab driver. It was one of those sort of trying-to-hail-a-cab-while-black moments in New York, and he came in and he was steaming." Although he tried to apologize for being upset, the casting staff felt his attitude wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
