The Wire’s actors speak  part 4
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- January
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Today brings us the fourth and final of the interviews HBO did with some of the regulars on The Wire.
Monday was Clarke Peters. Tuesday, Wendell Pierce. Yesterday, the incomparable Andre Royo. Today, Dominic West, who plays the lovable drunkard Officer Detective Officer Detective Officer James “Jimmy” McNulty.
In discussing Bunk’s relationship with McNulty the other day, I hit on most of the points that make Jimmy such a fan favorite. He’s a real person and a damn good cop. He cares as much about doing right by his street sources as he does about his colleagues.
McNulty wants to solve the crime. Plain and simple. That’s why he was promoted to homicide after just six years on the force. And also why he got busted back down to port duty after Season 1. And also why he got back to the homicide division because of his work at the port. And also why he decided to go back to the streets of the west side after another tour as a detective.
He also wants to get drunk most of the time and has been known to be a womanizer. But nobody’s perfect.
Plus, he’s not too hard on the eyes.
Reminder: the season premieres at 9 p.m. Sunday on HBO.
Oh, and if you wonder why West talks about his “general east coast American accent” below, that’s because he’s a Brit. And the the actor who plays Tommy Carcetti, Aidan Gillen, is Irish. Go figure.
Q: With THE WIRE finally winding down, how do you feel?
DOMINIC WEST: It’s pretty strange. I think it’s just beginning to hit me. I feel a bittersweet mixture of immense relief and nostalgia.
Q: McNulty went through a lot of changes in the first four seasons. Does that continue in the final year?
DW: [Laughing] I think in the fifth season we realize that he’s actually not changed at all. One of David Simon’s big themes is that you can’t change the world, you have to change yourself, and for a guy like McNulty to change himself is very difficult. He does transform himself in season four, but in season five we see him back to his old tricks. He has to go through the mill to have any chance of liberating himself from his demons in season five. Bunk says to me that I’m bad for everyone around me.
Q: It must be fun to play a character like that, though.
DW: Oh yeah, it’s great. What’s great about THE WIRE is that everyone is so well-drawn and three-dimensional. There’s no good guy who doesn’t have a dark side.
Q: What’s the hardest thing about being McNulty?
DW: The accent. I use a general east coast American accent. People tell me I have a great Baltimore accent, but it’s not really a Baltimore accent at all.
Q: Do you have a favorite scene?
DW: Probably the one where I’m undercover in the brothel and I get caught in flagrante. I remember thinking at that point how ridiculous my job is. I’ll never forget that.
Q: THE WIRE has constructed quite a detailed universe over the course of the series.
DW: I don’t know what the exact tally is, but I think David has over 350 characters! And he’s kept tabs on all of them. What’s amazing about season five is the way he ties up every single story strand of the series.
Q: So, in the final estimation, will McNulty be ok?
DW: I think he’s going to be fine.
We can only hope.
Photo courtesy of HBO.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, January 3rd, 2008 at 9:15 am by Amy Vernon.
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Amy,
Thank you so much for putting these interviews out there, as well as your commentary. Your last line regarding McNulty, “We can only hope”, is exactly how I feel too.
thanks again
Thanks for stopping by, Tito –
I hope you enjoy the interview I did with Jermaine Crawford, who plays Dukie. That posts this morning. I’ll be blogging on all the episodes the day after they air this season, so come back for weekly discussions!