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.
Law enforcement is an integral part of The Wire, and characters in this field range from those enforcing the law at street level up to those setting laws city wide.
Characters in this section include the state and city officials, both honest and corrupt, depicted in the series.
Characters in this section range from homeless drug addicts up to drug king-pins in charge of entire criminal empires.
This section includes the pupils, staff and Education Board employees from the school system depicted on the show.
This section includes the Stevedores and their families as well as the criminal organization that controls smuggling through the Baltimore docks.
The fifth season features an examination of a fictionalized version of The Baltimore Sun and introduced several journalist characters.
| Actor/Actress | Character | Starring seasons | Guest seasons | Episode count | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominic West | Jimmy McNulty | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | N/A | 56 | Homicide Detective (formerly Major Case Unit Detective and Patrol Officer) |
| Lance Reddick | Cedric Daniels | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | N/A | 58 | Deputy Commissioner for Operations (formerly Lieutenant/Major/Colonel/CID Commander) |
| Sonja Sohn | Kima Greggs | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | N/A | 56 | Homicide Detective (formerly Narcotics and Major Case Unit Detective) |
| Wendell Pierce | Bunk Moreland | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | N/A | 54 | Homicide Detective |
| Clarke Peters | Lester Freamon | 2, 3, 4, 5 | 1 | 54 | Major Case Unit Detective (formerly Homicide and Pawn Shop Unit Detective) |
| John Doman | William Rawls | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | N/A | 46 | Police Commissioner (formerly Major/Colonel/Deputy Commissioner for Operations) |
| Seth Gilliam | Ellis Carver | 3, 4, 5 | 1, 2 | 50 | Western District Sergeant in Charge (formerly Narcotics and Major Case Unit Detective) |
| Domenick Lombardozzi | Thomas "Herc" Hauk | 3, 4, 5 | 1, 2 | 54 | Defense investigator (formerly Narcotics Detective and Major Case Unit Sergeant) |
| Idris Elba | Russell "Stringer" Bell | 1, 2, 3 | N/A | 36 | Drug Kingpin |
| Jim True-Frost | Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski | 3, 4 | 1, 2, 5 | 45 | Teacher (formerly Major Case Unit Detective) |
| Michael K. Williams | Omar Little | 3, 4, 5 | 1, 2 | 42 | Stick-up man |
| Frankie Faison | Ervin Burrell | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 5 | 40 | Police Commissioner (formerly Deputy Commissioner for Operations) |
| Wood Harris | Avon Barksdale | 1, 2, 3 | 5 | 32 | Drug Kingpin |
| Deirdre Lovejoy | Rhonda Pearlman | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | N/A | 44 | Assistant State's Attorney in charge of Violent Crimes |
| Andre Royo | Bubbles | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | N/A | 40 | Soup kitchen volunteer and newspaper vendor (formerly drug addict and police informant) |
| Aidan Gillen | Tommy Carcetti | 3, 4, 5 | N/A | 35 | Mayor of Baltimore (formerly City Councilman) |
| J. D. Williams | Preston "Bodie" Broadus | 3, 4 | 1, 2 | 37 | Drug organization crew chief (formerly drug dealer) |
| Jamie Hector | Marlo Stanfield | 4, 5 | 3 | 31 | Drug Kingpin |
| Corey Parker Robinson | Leander Sydnor | 3, 4, 5 | 1 | 37 | Major Case Unit Detective |
| Robert Wisdom | Howard "Bunny" Colvin | 3, 4 | 2, 5 | 24 | Retired (Former Major with Police Department, and former teacher of sorts) |
| Amy Ryan | Beatrice "Beadie" Russell | 2 | 3, 4, 5 | 20 | Port Police Officer |
| Larry Gilliard, Jr. | D'Angelo Barksdale | 1, 2 | N/A | 18 | Drug organization crew chief |
| Gbenga Akinnagbe | Chris Partlow | 4, 5 | 3 | 26 | Drug organization chief enforcer |
| Felicia Pearson | Snoop Pearson | 4, 5 | 3 | 25 | Drug organization enforcer |
| Tristan Wilds | Michael Lee | 5 | 4 | 22 | Drug organization enforcer and crew chief (formerly middle school student) |
| Jermaine Crawford | Duquan "Dukie" Weems | 5 | 4 | 20 | Corner boy (formerly middle school student) |
| Chad Coleman | Dennis "Cutty" Wise | 4 | 3, 5 | 20 | Youth boxing instructor (former gang enforcer) |
| Reg E. Cathey | Norman Wilson | 4, 5 | N/A | 23 | Mayoral Deputy Chief of Staff (formerly Campaign Manager) |
| Paul Ben-Victor | Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos | 2 | 5 | 15 | Organized Crime Underboss |
| Chris Bauer | Frank Sobotka | 2 | N/A | 12 | Union secretary-treasurer |
| Clark Johnson | Augustus Haynes | 5 | N/A | 10 | City Desk Editor of The Baltimore Sun |
| Tom McCarthy | Scott Templeton | 5 | N/A | 10 | General Assignments Reporter atThe Baltimore Sun Metro Desk |
| Isiah Whitlock, Jr. | Clay Davis | 5 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 17 | Maryland State Senator |
| Glynn Turman | Clarence Royce | 4 | 3, 5 | 16 | Former Mayor of Baltimore |
| Michael Kostroff | Maurice Levy | 5 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 21 | Defense attorney |
| Michelle Paress | Alma Gutierrez | 5 | N/A | 10 | Police beat reporter for The Baltimore Sun City Desk |
| Neal Huff | Michael Steintorf | 5 | 4 | 11 | Mayoral Chief of Staff |
| Contents |
|---|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||