'The Wire' Could've Looked Wildly Different With John C. Reilly in This Role

Since its five-season run on HBO as a critical darling and eventual audience favorite, The Wirelaunched major stars in film and television, including Idris Elba, the late Michael K. Williams, Wendell Pierce, and Michael B. Jordan. At the time of its debut in 2002, each principal actor was on an equal playing field. The relative anonymity of its cast was essential to the gritty realism and documentary-like tone of David Simon's drama about the drug trade and the systemic failure of an American city in the 21st century, and this couldn't resemble anything like a Hollywood television production.