There are two types of people—those who have seen The Wire and know it's the best show of all-time, and those you haven't seen it yet.
—Tim Speaker
One of the many reasons why my favorite (and best) show of all time is The Wire are the characters. Fully three-dimensional, real characters either based on factual individuals, often played by non-actors, or amalgamations of real-life people, the characters on The Wire move far beyond any film or television series in terms of truth.
Most shows have a character, or a few characters, that keep you coming back. Yet when I thought to put this list together, I immediately thought of over 30 characters that I loved off the top of my head. I cannot imagine being able to do this with any other show. And that alone says alot for the quality of the acting on The Wire. Also, I had to leave out characters that I loved or felt were brilliant, in order to limit the list to 25 (sorry Herc, Prezbo, Clay Davis). This is astounding for a television show.
Here it is, my Top 25 Favorite Characters On The Wire:
25. Slim Charles
24. Carver
23. Chris Partlo
22. Snoop
21. Poot
20. Cutty
19. Bunny Colvin
18. Randy
17. Marlo Stanfield
16. Brother Mouzone
15. Dukie
14. Michael
13. Kima Greggs
12. Bodie Broadus
11. Wee Bey
10. Wallace
09. Proposition Joe
08. Lester Freamon
07. D’Angelo Barksdale
06. Bubbles
05. Avon Barksdale
04. Bunk Moreland
03. Jimmy McNulty
02. Stringer Bell
01. Omar Little
I know it's cliche to like Omar the best, but the brilliant Michael K. Williams portrayal of him is simply electric. He owns the screen every second he is on it, regardless of who he is sharing it with.
And fans can find a great home here, at WireFans.com.
