When HBO's premiered on June 2, 2002, critics adored it but audiences were slow to find it. However, once it picked up momentum, it became a hit, and served as a launching pad for some of the biggest actors working today.
At the show's start, Dominick West, Sonja Sohn and Lance Reddick were among the biggest names; these days, you'll recognize such A-listers as Michael B. Jordan, Idris Elba and Tristan Wilds as those who got their start on the gritty, darkly comedic series about the institutions that revolve around Baltimore's crime scene, from the media to the police officers to the criminals themselves.
Catch up on what the cast members of have been up to since it wrapped in 2008. (Warning: Spoilers ahead!)
From watching 's portrayal of detective James 'Jimmy' McNulty, you might guess the actor was a Baltimore native. However, it's all just really great dialect work as West actually hails from the U.K.
"Whenever I open my mouth in a room full of fans I'm conscious of a sort of deflation of, 'Oh, dear. He's not McNulty,'" the actor joked in an. "It's nice that people thought I am American — otherwise it wouldn't have worked, would it?"
These days, West is playing it close to home as he in season five of Netflix's Prior to landing the royal gig, he also played the polarizing Noah Solloway on Showtime's
In real life, West has been married to his wife, Catherine Fitzgerald, since 2010. .
Fans of — and his subsequent works — were shocked to learn of Reddick's death when broke the news on March 17.
A rep for the beloved actor , saying, "Acclaimed actor Lance Reddick passed away suddenly this morning from natural causes.
After his tenure as the staunch and dutiful Lieutenant Daniels on Reddick starred in the franchise as well as the recently rebooted
He is survived by his wife Stephanie Reddick and children Yvonne Nicole Reddick and Christopher Reddick.
These days you know him as , but before he was making the ladies swoon, was tugging at their heartstrings in his role as Wallace — a sweet neighborhood teenager with a big heart just trying to find his place in the drug-ridden Baltimore scene.
Since leaving show after his character's heartbreaking murder, the dimpled actor has graced the big screen, making a splash as Oscar Grant in 2013's before taking on Killmonger in and AdonisJohnson in the franchise.
Earlier this year, the talented powerhouse made his , serving both in front of behind the camera on the critically acclaimed
As with West, fans were staggered when they learned , who played criminal mastermind Stringer Bell on the series, was actually from the U.
But the actor said he worked incredibly hard to pass as a Baltimore native in order to impress creator David Simon.
“David Simon specifically told Alexa Fogel, who was the casting director, ‘Listen, this is about Baltimore. I don’t want to see no non-Americans for any of these roles, I need people that can really relate to the story I’m trying to tell here’ — which is a very fair thing to ask for, considering how observant he is of the culture,” he revealed
Obviously, his accent won Simon over as Elba was hired and would give the breakthrough performance of his career in the first three seasons of the show.
Following , Elba became a household name thanks to roles in and as well as his role as Heimdall in several Marvel films — not to mention, .
In April 2019, the actor and DJ with model in a gorgeous Moroccan ceremony.
Playing the notorious drug kingpin at the head of the Barksdale Organization was veteran actor, .
Prior to landing the role on Harris had a solid career going, with roles in iconic films and
Harris followed up his role on as Brooke Payne in the acclaimed BET series
These days, you can catch him playing Tony 'Little Duke' Evers alongside Michael B. Jordan in as well as Spencer Haywood on Max's
As police officer Kima Greggs, Sohn portrayed a woman who was tough, dedicated, thorough and could tackle criminals like any of her fellow squad members.
Her post- life has had highs and , but her career has stayed steady, with roles in hit shows including and She currently stars as Amanda Wagner on ABC's police procedural,
People would run when they heard the signature whistle from Michael K. Williams' Omar Little, a stickup man who lives by his own moral code and shows no mercy to those he thinks deserve to be at the end of his 12-gauge shotgun. But as a gay man, he is also vulnerable to the actions of others on the street.
Williams' earned credit for his thoughtful portrayal of Little, but said initially he was conflicted about taking the role that would make his career.
“As for Omar’s homosexuality, it was groundbreaking 20 years ago, and I admit that at first I was scared to play a gay character,” Williams wrote in his memoir ,
“I think my initial fear of Omar’s sexuality came from my upbringing, the community that raised me, and the stubborn stereotypes of gay characters. Once I realized that Omar was non-effeminate, that I didn’t have to talk or walk in a flamboyant way, a lot of that fear drained away. I made Omar my own. He wasn’t written as a type, and I wouldn’t play him as one.”
Williams in his Brooklyn apartment on Sept. 6, 2021. He was 54.
Tugging at our heartstrings was Bubbles, the drug-addict-turned-informant with a big heart, portrayed by Andre Royo.
Following Royo went on to star in Prime Video's which ran from 2014 to 2017, and he snagged a supporting role on Fox's hit show playing Lucious Lyon's lawyer, Thurston "Thirsty" Rawlings.
Navigating the corrupt law system in Baltimore wasn't always easy and Deirdre Lovejoy's Rhonda Pearlman was evidence of that.
In real life, however, Lovejoy's career seems to be going much smoother. She's appeared in a string of other cop procedurals including and
Most recently, she played U.S. senator Cynthia Panabaker on NBC's
Giving the Barksdale Organization a literal run for their money was Marlo Stanfield, the drug kingpin who entered the scene in season three.
It seems the knack for crime series stuck with Hector as he starred in Prime Video's which aired from 2014 to 2021 on the streaming service. Hector also made appearances in and throughout the years.
McNulty's best friend and ally inside the police department, s Bunk Moreland never let his love for the job get in the way of his love for partying.
Following the veteran actor continued steadily working, with roles on
You may recognize him as the handsome love interest in Adele's "Hello" music video, but Tristan Wilds is another young thespian who developed their acting chops on The now 33-year-old was only 15 when he was cast on the show.
He went on to snag a role on The CW's reboot of and would link up with fellow alums, Michael B. Jordan and Method Man in George Lucas'
These days, Wilds is a father of two daughters — , 3, and Naima Elizabeth, 6 months — whom he shares with wife Christina Wilds. He also stars in Apple TV+'s
Actor Seth Gilliam played the guy who's intentions were always good, but his execution was a bit more questionable: Lieutenant Ellis Carver.
After , Gilliam landed on another hit show: where he played the morally conflicted Father Gabriel, though he works steadily on TV and in films including and
Nowadays, Aiden Gillen is mostly recognizable as the sneaky, conniving Lord Baelish from but the actor has been playing shady politicians for HBO since his stint as ambitious city councilman Tommy Carcetti on which began in the show's second season.
Gillen has also appeared in , and
Another HBO company man, Chris Bauer played the ditzy Andy Bellefleur on and Bobby Dwyer on after his stint as Frank Sobotka in season two of
Amy Ryan truly has range: The actress went from playing the serious and duty-bound officer Russell on to goofing off and pulling pranks as Michael Scott's love interest, Holly Flax, on
Ryan landed an Oscar nomination for her role in 2007's and has had earned even more acclaim for roles in which starred Angelina Jolie, with Tom Hanks, and most recently which earned her a nomination.
This year, she had an appearance in the Joaquin Phoenix-led which came out in April. She is and they have one daughter.
