'The Wire': Where Are They Now?

"The Wire" ended its five-year run in 2008, but its evangelists still extol its glories to new generations. A police procedural with an impassioned Brechtian soul, the HBO series painted Baltimore's wretched stories about crime and punishment with brutal beauty. While its storylines about corner boys, cops, and corrupt institutions have become the stuff of Harvard course work, its wrenching magic also sprang from its superb cast, "one of the most enormous ... of any television show." Yet not one actor received an Emmy nod, much less a statuette — talk about criminal negligence. After the show ended, many stuck together to enact real-world change, whether campaigning for presidential candidate Barack Obama or starting up an outreach program for Baltimore youth. If only the crew would start a traveling troupe ("The Wire" cast stars in "Hamlet"! Next up, "Hangover: The Sequel"!). While we wait for that great idea to come to fruition, here's an update on some of the show's key stars. [Share this slideshow on Twitter]Saturday, September, 18, 2010, 1:18 AM

Dominic West (Officer Jimmy McNulty) … As Officer McNulty, West operated as the show's moral conscience. He seemed to carry the usual afflictions that plague TV's Irish American cops — alcoholic, divorced, absentee dad, rash, and tempted by moral shortcuts — but he balanced his personal failings with a deep decency about being good murder police. Typical of British TV actors, West moonlighted in films ("Mona Lisa Smile" and "300"), while his post-"Wire" success belonged to the small screen, playing Oliver Cromwell in the 2004 British miniseries "The Devil's Whore." Catch him in gladiator sandals in the limited release "Centurion." By the way, he's no longer a free man: He married his college sweetheart this summer, with his "Wire" co-stars Wendell Pierce, Andre Royo, and Sonja Sohn in attendance.HBO/Paul Schiraldi, Magnolia Films - Saturday, September, 18, 2010, 1:18 AM

Sonja Sohn (Detective Kima Greggs) … Her deliciously tough take on her role as the only female cop on the murder squad did get at least one award: the 2008 Asian Excellence Award (Sohn is of East African and Korean descent). The former slam poet and cheerleader preached the show's message after it ended. She founded and heads ReWired for Change, a nonprofit that rehabilitates 20 juveniles who've been involved in crimes. Some of her fans got their Sohn fix with her recurring role in "Cold Case" and "Brothers & Sisters," but now she's back with a badge on "Body of Proof" (ABC).HBO/Everett Collection, ABC/Donna Svennevik - Saturday, September, 18, 2010, 1:18 AM

Wendell Pierce (Detective Bunk Moreland) … His character Bunk was both a foil and the yin to McNulty's yang. Like Sohn, he has devoted himself to community work, but in his case it's in his native Louisiana, fighting the bureaucracy to revive Pontchartrain Park, the "black Mayberry" where his parents had lived. He has steadily subsisted on TV guest roles and excelled on the stage. That idea about "The Wire" troupe? Pierce at least is sticking close to "Wire" creator David Simon in "Treme." (He learned the horn to play trombonist Antoine Batiste.)HBO/Paul Schiraldi - Saturday, September, 18, 2010, 1:18 AM

Clarke Peters (Detective Lester Freamon) … Precise in his investigative technique, his dollhouse furniture carpentry, and his dry wit, Lester Freamon made the wire-part of "The Wire" a nerdish delight. Another whose mantel is owed an Emmy, Peters went on to become a short-timer in "Damages." He has also returned to the stage, and celebrated the 20th anniversary of his successful musical "Five Guys Named Moe" with an Edinburgh revival. London is his home (is "The Wire" some kind of cultural exchange program?), but New Orleans is where he works, back with creator David Simon on "Treme" playing construction contractor and Mardi Gras Indian Albert Lambreaux.HBO/Paul Schiraldi - Saturday, September, 18, 2010, 1:18 AM

HONORABLE MENTIONS: THE POLICE — Seth Gilliam (Sgt. Ellis Carver) ... No more TV police roles — he just finished playing "Othello" in Boston this summer, before heading to Los Angeles to find TV work. … Domenick Lombardozzi (Officer Herc Hauk) ... Stars as a marshal on "Breakout Kings," which premieres in 2011 on A&E. … Corey Parker Robinson (Detective Leander Sydnor) ...Took a role in a Web series called "Life After Lisa: A Romantic Mystery." … Amy Ryan (Officer Beadie Russell) ... Returning to "The Office" for Steve Carell's last season. The busy Oscar nominee ("Gone Baby Gone") shared screen time with Matt Damon in "The Green Zone," and will play Philip Seymour Hoffman's love interest in "Jack Goes Boating," opening Sept. 23. … Jim True-Frost (Prez Pryzbylewski) ... The bad cop turned reformed teacher scored on Broadway in "August: Osage County." The longtime stage actor has also done guest-starring roles on shows since.Saturday, September, 18, 2010, 1:18 AM

Idris Elba (Stringer Bell) … Another Brit, Elba hid his roots well when he played the criminal overlord with an MBA approach. Then again, his English background may have emerged in the Shakespearean evolution of his villainy, all the way back to Season 1, when he had Avon Barksdale's brother D'Angelo killed in prison. Elba barely let the corpse of Stringer Bell get cold before starring in romantic comedies ("Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls"), the "Fatal Attraction" update "Obsessed," and two tough-guy action flicks this year ("The Losers," "Takers"). He's inheriting the Morgan Freeman mantle by taking up the role of Dr. Alex Cross. What next, God? Well, um, a Norse god, Thor, in Kenneth Branagh's upcoming movie. Meanwhile, you can see him as Laura Linney's lover on "The Big C" (Showtime) and as detective chief inspector "Luther" on BBC America, or listen to his new EP under his DJ name, Driis. Oh, and he may one day tour with his band, Trampion.HBO/Everett Collection, Showtime/Ken Regan - Saturday, September, 18, 2010, 1:18 AM

Michael K. Williams (Omar Little) … His performance as the street's gay Robin Hood extended his character's life right up to the final weeks of the show, and made him one of the series' all-time favorites. He may have been a ruthless shooter who helped bring an end to Stringer Bell, but by street standards, he was an upstanding man. The remarkable portrayal made the homosexuality incidental, which testified to both Omar's fearsome rep and the fact that street life was so grim, whom you loved wasn't anybody's business. After "The Wire" he scored movie roles in "The Road" and the upcoming "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Kills You." Now he's back on HBO in the buzzy "Boardwalk Empire," playing the informal black mayor of Prohibition-era Atlantic City.HBO/Paul Schiraldi, Abbot Genser - Saturday, September, 18, 2010, 1:18 AM

Jamie Hector (Marlo Stanfield) … With original gangsta Avon Barksdale in prison and Stringer Bell dead, nobody was really left to check Marlo Stanfield. Lucky for mankind, Hector prefers to use his powers for good in real life. He has raised thousands of dollars for earthquake victims in Haiti (he's Haitian by heritage) and runs the nonprofit "Moving Mountains," which is aimed at exposing inner-city youth to the arts. (Had you kept track, you could've been involved in a fundraising paintball crossfire between Marlo, Omar, Snoop, Kim, and Slim Charles.) He didn't give up his onscreen villainous ways in "Heroes." You can catch his indie work — "Just Another Day" (with Wood "Avon Barksdale" Harris), "The Gift" (with Charles S. Dutton), and "Night Catches Us" — on DVD, or his voice on "Halo: Reach." Hector will also be appearing on the Season 3 premiere of Fox's "Lie to Me" on November 10.HBO,Ben Hider/Getty Images - Saturday, September, 18, 2010, 1:18 AM

HONORABLE MENTIONS: THE SOLDIERS — Felicia Pearson (Felicia "Snoop" Pearson) … Mumbling and pragmatically vicious hit woman of seemingly indeterminate gender, Pearson was the real thing — so much so that the character was named after her. She told her story in the autobiography "Grace After Midnight." And she's still Marlo Stanfield's soldier — she's helping Jamie Hector with Moving Mountains. Next up: a role in the intentionally misspelled indie film "Criminal Empire for Dummy's" with Harvey Keitel. … Anwan Glover (Slim Charles) ... Plays with the Backyard Band and DJs Sunday nights at WKYS in Washington D.C., although Big G got suspended for mayoral politics. … Gbenga Akinnagbe (Chris Partlow) ... Had a storyline in "The Good Wife" and intimidates Bow Wow in "Lottery Ticket." He's a founding member of ReWired for Change. … Chad L. Coleman (Coach Cutty Wise) ... Appeared in an episode of "In Plain Sight" and snagged himself a spot in "The Green Hornet," due out in January. … Tray Chaney (Poot Carr) ... Working on his mixtape and three indie films, but his nine-to-five mailroom job at a law firm shows how hard life in the arts can be.Saturday, September, 18, 2010, 1:18 AM

Andre Royo (Bubbles) … Andre Royo wrenched hearts as the drug-addicted Bubbles, who survived on selling scrap metal, snitching, and sheer persistence. His very ordinariness amidst grinding, fearful poverty showed what the streets could do to an Everyman. Royo may finally have earned his just rewards: He has roles in the upcoming Rainn Wilson comedy "Super" and George Lucas's World War II film "Red Tails," among others. More importantly for quick-fix TV audiences: He'll reunite with Lance Reddick by joining "Fringe" this fall.HBO/Paul Schiraldi, FOX/Liane Hentscher - Saturday, September, 18, 2010, 1:18 AM

J.D. Williams (Bodie Broadus) … For those who started watching "The Wire" from the very beginning, the street-smart corner boy Bodie Broadus was the one to root for. Watching Bodie gave viewers a sense of how much the street could age a kid. And while Bubbles might've been the Everyman, this Barksdale soldier was the ultimate working stiff: faithful to his first boss, enduring leadership changes and bureaucracies, and finally resisting takeovers ... to his detriment. That Williams was actually eight years older than his character is a jaw dropper and yet makes complete sense. Williams has laid low since starring in "The Kill Point" miniseries, which co-starred four "Wire" alumni, but he'll be guest starring this fall on ABC's "Detroit 1-8-7."HBO/Paul Schiraldi,Ben Hider/Getty Images - Saturday, September, 18, 2010, 1:18 AM

HONORABLE MENTIONS: THE BOSSES — Wood Harris (Avon Barksdale) ... Appeared as Trinney Day in "Southland," in a guest role on "Hawaii Five-0," and as the first black NBA player in the biopic "Sweetwater," due out in 2011. … Larry Gilliard Jr. (D'Angelo Barksdale) ... Starred in "Turnipseed" in 2008 and had a regular role as an FBI agent in "The Beast," starring the late Patrick Swayze. … Lance Reddick (Col. Cedric Daniels) ... Plays agent Phillip Broyles in "Fringe," and Season 3 may bring only bigger things for him. … Robert Wisdom (Bunny Colvin) … The man behind "Hamsterdam" has been in recurring roles in "Supernatural," "Happy Town," and lately, "Burn Notice." … Aidan Gillen (Mayor Tommy Carcetti) ... He'll be a scheming royal adviser on HBO's upcoming "Games of Thrones." ... Reg E. Cathey (Norman Wilson) ... He finished a run in "The Shawshank Redemption" on a London stage (yes, a play) and is on the FX boxing series "Lights Out" (Clark Johnson, who played newspaper editor Gus Haynes on "The Wire" and Detective Meldrick Lewis on "Homicide: Life on the Street," directed the pilot episode).Saturday, September, 18, 2010, 1:18 AM

Tristan Wilds (Michael Lee) … In what has to be among the strangest job switch-ups in TV, Tristan Wilds has gone from playing Michael Lee, the kid from the Baltimore projects, to Dixon Wilson, the adopted son of a Beverly Hills family on "90210." The HBO series' fourth season, which laser-focused on Baltimore's failing school system, may arguably have been the best of "The Wire," in no small part due to Wilds. As for his new ZIP code, New York Magazine points out his "90210" output has exceeded that of his old show, "meaning a whole new generation of kids [know] Wilds as a smiley California teen instead of his true identity: a cold-blooded future robber-of-drug-dealers. Sad." (Well, his "90210" character Dixon Wilson does have gambling issues.) Coming up for Wilds: He's co-starring in "Red Tails" (along with Andre Royo) about the Tuskegee Airmen, likely due out in 2011.HBO/Paul Schiraldi, The CW/Patrick Ecclesine - Saturday, September, 18, 2010, 1:18 AM

HONORABLE MENTIONS: THE KIDS — Julito McCullum (Namond Brice) ... Co-starred in "Akeelah and the Bee" and turned 18 this year. ... Maestro Harrell (Randy Wagstaff) ... Just turned 18, making music, and tweeting. ... Jermaine Crawford (Dukie Weems) ... He captivated audiences with one of the saddest storylines in "The Wire." Crawford had a role in the Chace Crawford indie film "Twelve," and is otherwise singing and waxing philosophic these days.Saturday, September, 18, 2010, 1:18 AM

HONORABLE MENTIONS: THE CREATORS — Ed Burns ("The Wire" scribe) … Recognized with a Writers Guild of America Award nomination in 2009, he worked on "Generation Kill" with David Simon. He's still talking the talk about reforming education. ... David Simon ("The Wire" creator) … Dubbed by The Atlantic as "The Angriest Man in Television," Simon has managed to channel his rage into "Generation Kill," which focuses on the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion's invasion of Iraq in 2003, and "Treme," which explores Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. [Share this slideshow on Twitter]Saturday, September, 18, 2010, 1:18 AM