10 Best Characters In The Wire

The main character in The Wire is the city of Baltimore, but the classic crime drama’s ever-changing ensemble is jam-packed with flawed, complex, strangely lovable characters. David Simon and his team of writers used the typical setup of a police procedural as a springboard for a journalistic study of the American city, and they explored a wide variety of characters throughout that city. Every season of The Wire explored a different part of Baltimore — the drug trade, the local government, the school system, the press — and each new setting brought a whole new line-up of characters. There are too many great characters in The Wire to include in this list. Lester Freamon is cool and laid-back, despite what he does for a living, in stark contrast to his co-workers. Clay Davis is an unforgettable character, purely for the distinctive way he pronounces the word “sheeeee-it.” Roland “Prez” Pryzbylewski started off as a typical crooked cop, but he got a moving redemption arc when he became a teacher and took some at-risk kids under his wing. The Wire has stronger characterization than the average police procedural, so it’s overflowing with great characters. 10 Dennis "Cutty" Wise So many character arcs in The Wire show how good people get swept up into a life of crime, but Chad L. Coleman’s Dennis “Cutty” Wise is a very different kind of character. He’s a notorious drug enforcer who, after a 14-year prison sentence, makes a genuine effort to reform. Cutty’s old partners-in-crime try to lure him back into the game, but he resists the temptation and puts in the time and hard work to go legit. He ends up opening a boxing gym and giving a lot of local kids a sense of purpose. 9 Bunk Moreland Bunk Moreland is a hilariously deadpan foil for his partner and best friend, Jimmy McNulty. Bunk has a lot of the same problems as Jimmy — alcoholism, infidelity, non-stop stress from high-stakes work — but they have a few key differences, too. Bunk has a slightly stronger moral code than Jimmy, so he doesn’t always agree with how Jimmy does things, and he has a lot more respect for his superiors. Wendell Pierce plays the part with the perfect curmudgeonly attitude for a stressed-out homicide detective trying to tackle a mountain of cases. 8 Snoop Most characters in The Wire are realistic representations of the kind of people who inhabit the world of the show, but Felicia Pearson’s role as Snoop is directly autobiographical. According to a New York Times piece, Pearson was a real-life drug dealer in Baltimore as a teenager and went to prison for second-degree murder. Pearson brings a chilling authenticity to the role of a nail-gun-toting soldier — Stephen King described Snoop as “perhaps the most terrifying female villain to ever appear in a television series” — but she also has a natural charisma that makes the character really funny and entertaining. 7 Stringer Bell From the suppliers to the dealers, a lot of the characters who operate within the drug trade in The Wire fall into familiar archetypes. But Idris Elba’s Stringer Bell is a very different kind of drug lord. He has an unexpected sales acumen. He goes to business classes to learn how to strategize effectively in a competitive market. Stringer runs his drug empire the same way he would run a legitimate business. It’s fascinating to see, and points out that there’s not much difference between the way the illegal drug trade operates and the way legit corporations operate. 6 Kima Greggs Kima Greggs is a great example of The Wire taking a familiar archetype and adding a lot more depth and realism to their character. Kima is a tough-as-nails badass who doesn’t take any guff from anyone and starts throwing punches the second she’s disrespected. But she’s also deeply vulnerable, and Sonja Sohn nailed both sides of the character. In the early seasons, her relationship with Cheryl is a swift casualty of her workaholism. But by the end of The Wire, Kima has made an honest attempt to reconnect with Cheryl and her son Elijah. 5 Howard "Bunny" Colvin Howard “Bunny” Colvin first made his name in The Wire with his horribly ill-advised “Hamsterdam” scheme. In the hope of lowering crime rates in other parts of Baltimore, Colvin delineated a small section of the city where the drug trade would, effectively, be legal. After this plan backfired spectacularly and ended his police career, he pivoted to a much nobler cause: getting at-risk youths to embrace their education. Colvin becoming a loving father figure to Namond and ultimately adopting him might be the best and most positive change that happened to any character in The Wire. 4 Duquan Weems After spending three seasons with the kids selling drugs on the corner, in its fourth season, The Wire went into the public school system to show how those kids end up there. This storyline is framed through Duquan Weems, an impoverished young boy with neglectful parents. Duquan is a really sweet, inquisitive, hard-working kid, and if it wasn’t for his tragic circumstances, he’d be set up for a bright future. Prezbo’s redemption arc is driven by becoming a father figure to Duquan — and, despite Prez’s best efforts, as with many storylines in The Wire, it ends in tragedy. 3 Jimmy McNulty The wisecracking, hard-drinking detective is a pretty familiar stock character, but The Wire’s Jimmy McNulty makes it feel fresh. The Wire doesn’t present Jimmy’s drinking as cool or charming; it shows the adverse effect it has on his work and his personal life. Jimmy is a really good dad to his sons when he shows up, but that’s rare. His only real personal attachment is to the job, so he ends up alienating everybody close to him. Dominic West’s effortless charisma and delightfully dry line deliveries ensured that, even when he was doing terrible things, Jimmy was always lovable. 2 Bubbles For the most part, The Wire’s storytelling focuses on the criminals selling drugs and the cops trying to take them down, but Andre Royo’s role as Bubbles highlights who really gets hurt by the drug trade. Bubbles’ addiction led him to burn every bridge in his personal life and end up homeless. Throughout the series, Bubbles went through relapses, assaults, betrayals, and harrowing tragedies, and never lost his tenacious spirit. There was no easier character to root for in The Wire than Bubbles, and it was gratifying to see him finally get back on his feet in the final season. 1 Omar Little Every TV show has a breakout character; the character who stands out from the rest of the ensemble and becomes a fan-favorite. Happy Days had Fonzie, Family Matters had Steve Urkel, and The Wire had Omar Little. Omar has a unique place in The Wire’s cops-and-crooks dynamic in that he doesn’t fall squarely on either side of the law. He’s essentially a vigilante; a Robin Hood-esque figure who robs illicit funds from drug dealers. Over the course of the series, he made uneasy alliances with both the police and the criminals they were chasing. The concept of Omar alone makes him a fascinating figure, but Michael K. Williams’ performance brought so much life and depth to the character. He might carry a shotgun everywhere he goes and terrify everyone in his path, but he’s also oddly charming. He marches to the beat of his own drum — exemplified hilariously when he wears a tie over his usual attire for a courtroom appearance — and he has a natural sense of humor and a deep capacity for love. The Wire has a lot of iconic characters, but none of them are more iconic than Omar. Source: The New York Times The Wire 10/10 Release Date 2002 - 2008-00-00 Network HBO Showrunner David Simon Directors Ernest R. Dickerson, Ed Bianchi, Steve Shill, Clark Johnson, Daniel Attias, Agnieszka Holland, Tim Van Patten, Alex Zakrzewski, Anthony Hemingway, Brad Anderson, Clement Virgo, Elodie Keene, Peter Medak, Rob Bailey, Seith Mann, Christine Moore, David Platt, Dominic West, Gloria Muzio, Jim McKay, Leslie Libman, Milcho Manchevski, Robert F. Colesberry, Thomas J. Wright Writers Richard Price, Joy Lusco, Rafael Alvarez, Dennis Lehane, David Mills, William F. Zorzi, Kia Corthron Dominic West Jimmy McNulty Lance Reddick Cedric Daniels

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