Aidan Gillen and Clarke Peters

13/08/2009

The Wire's stars reveal their passion for 'missionary' TV and partying in Baltimore

Aidan Gillen
aka Tommy Carcetti

What made The Wire so great?
It was meticulously wrought. It’s not patronising and it’s written from the heart. It wasn’t afraid to play a risky game in that it took a really long time to tell a very complicated story. It never pandered to the criteria that regular television shows are supposed to follow, where everybody has to know what everybody is talking about all the time – you have to over-explain everything. David Simon had an idea from the start about what was going to happen over five seasons, without ever knowing whether they were going to get to shoot that long. It was courageous to save things up, not knowing whether you’re ever going to get there.

From your own experience living in Baltimore while filming, does it feel authentic?
It was an unflinching, honest portrayal of a second-tier American city. They weren’t afraid to show what was wrong with Baltimore. There are a lot of grim stories but it would’ve been a lot grimmer if they hadn’t made it, if they hadn’t told the truth. It was a hard story about a hard place, told by people who love it and who want better for the people there.

Why hasn’t the UK done a series like The Wire?
Well, in America everything is done on a bigger scale but for those big, sprawling series that everyone’s talking about, you’re really talking about HBO. They’ve nearly all been made by HBO, so I think it’s maybe as particular as that. They have the resources plus the will to push what you can show on television.

Did you enjoy working in American television?
I enjoyed it because I was working on The Wire. It was as good to work on as it is to watch. I met so many good people. It wasn’t starry in any way – everyone was there for the right reasons. I think that may be unusual for an American drama, a lot of which is star-driven.

Do you have a favourite Wire character?
I liked the character Michael Lee, the corner boy played by Tristan Wilds. Like a lot of the characters, he didn’t lay all his cards on the table and say this is who this is and this is who they’re going to be. That was the thing about season four that made it so compelling – there are these four kids who are at a really vulnerable point in their lives, especially living where they live. The statistics are stacked against them. You find yourself rooting for those young guys.

And a favourite moment in particular?
One of the moments that hit me the hardest is when Prez (cop-turned-teacher Roland Pryzbylewski) gives money to Dukie – the kid who’s working on the back of a scrap metal cart and starting to do gear. He comes to Prez looking for money to go to college. Prez says: “If you’re really going to college, I guess I’ll see you again. If you’re not, I guess I won’t.” That was a pretty heartbreaking and real moment. You feel like you know where that’s going.

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Clarke Peters
aka Lester Freamon

When did you realise you were part of something special with The Wire?
I would go back and forth from the UK, so I wasn’t in the States when it first went out. It took a while to realise how many people were reacting so positively. It wasn’t really until the season with the kids [series four] that I realised how special it was. The storytelling is so deep – there’s so many layers to it. You don’t realise just how many until you get into conversations with strangers on the street and they’re telling just why it appeals to them, how it fits in with their own environment, their own neighbourhood, their own political situation.

Were you surprised at its popularity in the UK?
The response over here shows that Britain has the same problems and a lot of people are glad somebody’s said something about it, even if it was an American show. It makes you feel like you’re actor on a mission. Art should be like that – it should be able to influence the way we think about things. If anyone thinks art has no effect on society, take a look at The Wire. There are schools and half-way houses using it as an educational tool.

Was there a sense of camaraderie among the cast?
It was a great company of actors. In the early days, it was exciting to be going out socialising, getting to know your character and getting to know the others. The first year, there was a lot of partying going on. Dominic and those boys wore me out man! I think we realised we couldn’t waste so much time going out when filming on season two. We had – for want of a better phrase – shot our wad after season one!

What was it like working in Baltimore?
There is a certain charm to the city when you get to know it. It has a wonderful history – it was one of the centres of black entertainment on the east coast. It was part of the underground rail road for escaped slaves coming up from the South. It was the place the Americans beat back the British and hence – ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ [originally written as a poem after the Battle of Baltimore]. It seems to have always drawn artists who are looking for culture, even after heavy industry left. It’s also a college town, which brings an energy I like. It’s a place that is changing.

Did anything in your own upbringing prepare you for the mean streets of Baltimore?
It was a very ordinary, middle-class upbringing on the outskirts of Manhattan. Nothing exceptional. My family moved to Englewood in New Jersey, but as soon as I was able to move out and travel, I went back to hang out in New York City [Peters has lived in London since the ’70s] . Our summers were spent listening to Dizzy Gillespie and the jazz greats at Depot Square. It was a great place that moulded how I see art, which probably few black kids my age were exposed to.

What kind of roles have you been offered since The Wire, characters like Lester?
Yeah, a few! (laughs). It has changed the dynamic of my career. It’s also made me a little bit picky. I suppose I’ve been spoilt by the quality of The Wire. I don’t want to do a lot of dross. There’s been TV stuff I’ve been offered, and I think, ‘There’s just no way I can fit my mouth around this stuff’. I was fortunate enough to play Nelson Mandela. I knew people who had played iconic roles before and I thought I’d learn from their mistakes. I thought I’d try to play the man rather than the legend. There’s a few people who can imitate really well, but I wanted more to get inside his head.

You’ve performed in some of the West End’s most successful plays (Chicago, The Iceman Cometh) and earned a Tony Award nomination for writing Five Guys Named Moe. Do you feel blessed? 
Blessed is probably exactly the right way to put it. For me, the theatre was such a romantic place, and I’ve been fortunate to have a career that’s taken me in lots of different directions. I’ve sown up costumes, rigged the lights. Your name might be above the title, but I’ve always felt you’re no bigger than anyone else on the team. I approach my work as an apprentice and I always felt the only way to get training was to get on-stage as much as possible, a place where you’re constantly telling stories and it’s different and exciting every night. I’m directing Denise van Outen in a one-woman show at Edinburgh Festival (Blondes). She’s a hard-working woman and I think people will be surprised by the quality of her talent. Maybe watching Denise perform is a way of vicariously experiencing stage again. Not that I want to dress up in drag! I was in Edinburgh years ago with my Nat King Cole show and I loved it. I can’t wait to go back.