The Wire/Trivia


 * Actor Allusion:
 * Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich playing a security guard at the governor's office.
 * Donnie Andrews, the real-life inspiration for Omar Little, who appears as his sidekick a few times and is . That scene was based on an incident in Andrews' real life.
 * Guess which character is played by notorious former crimelord Little Melvin, the inspiration for Barksdale? Give up? The Deacon.
 * Felicia Pearson basically plays a fictionalized version of herself..
 * The woman playing the principal of the local school? Actually the principal of the real high school. No wonder you sat up straight when she yelled.
 * Lt. Dennis Mello was played by the actual Jay Landsman, a long-time homicide detective in the Baltimore Police Department. Not to be confused with the fictional homicide detective Jay Landsman (see Celebrity Paradox in the main section).
 * When he goes undercover in the Greek's brothel, McNulty's alias is "James Cromwell", in reference to "the English fuck who stole my ancestors' land." Dominic West played Oliver Cromwell in the Channel 4 miniseries The Devil's Whore.
 * Actor Shared Background/Reality Subtext: Richard De Angelis really did have cancer and died due to complications from it after Season 4. When it was confirmed that his cancer was terminal, his character also developed cancer, died from it during the course of Season 4, and had a policeman's wake.
 * Hey, It's That Guy!:
 * Gordon from Sesame Street plays a cop in Season 5.
 * Plenty of cameos from Baltimore-area personalities. The Baltimore Sun office in Season 5, for example, has several former Sun writers playing themselves in their old jobs.
 * Many remember JD Williams (Bodie Broadus) as being Wangler from HBO's Oz. At least three cops played medium to minor characters in Oz, as well.
 * Andy Bellefleur plays Frank Sobotka (or is that the other way around).
 * The Greek will seem very familiar to fans of Law and Order. His actor has played several roles on that show, perhaps most notably the Pedophile Priest who molested Mike Logan as a child.
 * Back in Season One, Chris Partlow can be seen in court wearing a police uniform -- wait what?
 * Before he turned to dealing heroin in Baltimore, Avon was a high school football player in Virginia.
 * Beatrice McReady (Amy Ryan) is actually a decent mother for once, and a cop, no less.
 * Littlefinger is another sleezy politician as Tommy Carcetti.