I don't think you're getting it. I believe what Dave Kane was saying is that if Carver had been cast as a Stringer, the entire Stringer part would've been adapted for him. It would've been a very different Stringer, and Elba would sure as hell be ridiculous for it, just as he would be ridiculous as Carver.
Funny, too, about Bubbles and the gum. If anybody wants a laugh, YT (I will try to get the approx. title of it) "Al Swearingen auditions". Its Titus Welliver, who does INCREDIBLE impressions, in his full on Deadwood costume, doing a skit he wrote, where he is writer David Milch interviewing variously: Al Pacino, Chris Walken, Robert Duvall and Deniro, for the part of Al Swearingen. Guess I reminded myself of it, beyond these auditions, by writing about the cliche bubble gum bit, as he has all these celebrities with actors studio/method acting roots wanting to put handicaps on the character, and dance, as well. PEACE
It's funny because that really is apparently why he got the role. A bunch of rappers had their reps reach out to the wire to get them a spot, but just wanted one with no hassle. Method Man was the only one who showed some actual respect to the process and the production to earn a role instead of leaning on his fame. And he did great as Cheese. Hated that character for all the right reasons.
+juvenilemafia10 Totally agree with that. He was perfect as Chris though. A guy with a warm smile, seemingly all nice and friendly.. flip the switch, and the guy just murders without blinking. To me, he was much scarier than anyone else on the show. Just seeing Marlo, Bird, etc, you could just see their type of person through how they behaved. Not so much with Chris. Was great acting by everyone on that show :)
+juvenilemafia10 I kept thinking this the whole show. And guy who played Marlo makes a lot of sense as Chris. I can see that. But my god Carver for Bell? No no no :))
+juvenilemafia10 Hmm, I'm not sure I can agree with that... for me the most remarkable thing about Gbenga (ie Chris) is his incredibly open, happy smile, which works to chilling effect for his character as a guy for whom contract killing is basically an enjoyable way to earn a living. Marlo takes his work much more seriously; he's driven, he doesn't seem to actually enjoy much of anything.
@@hollisfortune8791 yeah i was gonna comment the same thing “american accent” dont mind the southern accent and its twenty other variations or the typical mid western accent and ITS twenty different variations Nahhhhh everyone in north america just sounds like bill burr
@@clawzx1195 ... lol. Yeah, Balmer definitely has it's own unique accent. Ask one of them to say "hot dog". It's more like "hat dug". I have to give props to the actors because most of them nailed it pretty good.
He gets a lot of flak, but I honestly had no idea it was method man or that he wasn't a trained actor. He didn't do a bad job by any means. I've watched the wire a few times and even on repeated viewings I don't think there's anything wrong with his acting. The fact that he portrayed a character that's so hated might have something to do with it. No sweeter scene than when Slim shoots him.
@@defragsbin As far as I know, The Wire has exactly two hip-hop cameos. Obviously, Method Man as Cheese...but one that slipped by younger viewers is Fredro Starr (of Onyx) as Bird.
Baltimorehop actually he might've been able to, he played a cop who turned into a druggie in Oz so it's possible. Carver as Stringer Bell though? that's probably the most ridiculous one lol.
phorest I agree. Daniels could have pulled off Bubbles (funny if it had been the other way around, no fucking way!) Chris as Marlo might have worked, huh?
The funny part is when McNulty gets the job to pretend to be English. An Englishman pretending to be an American pretending to be an Englishman. Spot on!
phorest I can't remember which episode, but when McNulty is at the bar (I think with Cedric) talking about "going down to ocean" his accent slips through really bad.
Casting team nailed it. Esp since some actors auditioned for other characters. In the end they got the perfect fit. Did anyone else audition for OMAR ?
its awesome with the wire because a lot of the main players were heavy criminals(marlo, stringer, avon, omar) so to see them out of character is mind blowing
Finished watching The Wire for the first time on Friday (11/26/21). My son had literally been begging me to watch the show for over ten years! The writing and character development of the show was off the charts. Can’t even wrap my head around different actors playing other roles. I’m going to watch the series again in the new year!💯
Looking at people who could have played other parts. It's amazing the way some characters make a role there's so that anyone else playing it would just be wrong
I can't imagine any of these actors being anyone else than who they played.. The writing, the castings, and the actors, were so incredible.. I have never seen a series that felt so real
I can definitely see the actor who played Chris playing Marlo and he’d have probably been brilliant, but his performance as Chris was amazing, one of the best performances of the entire series imo, he’s one of the most unsettling villains I’ve seen in film or television
I watch the whole series every couple of years. Each time I do so, i appreciate the series more and more. It's like an old friend I visit with. Thank you David Simon and cast.
"When I went in to read for Bubbles everyone was chewing bubble gum." lmfaoooooooooooo! I had to pause the video I was laughing so hard. Oh man, too good.
I would give everything I own plus everything my best friend owns (without his knowledge) for the Creators of the Wire to get everyone from the show back together and do an just one episode from the show with all of the actors playing the roles they originally auditioned for. Especially an episode that focused on Stringer/Avon and Bubbles. Can you guys fucking imagine watching an intense episode of The Wire with everyone playing the roles they said they auditioned for in the videos? I think it would make my fucking head explode!
***** haha actually I meant an old episode. A new episode with all of them playing the original characters would be strange because you wouldn't know what was supposed to happen or how the characters would react to a new situation so it would just come off odd. What would blow my mind is all of them in the spots they auditioned for in an episode where we already know what happened. Im saying imagine seeing Lance Riddock play Bubbles for example in the episode after he accidentally kills that kid with the heroin cut with cyanide! It would be insane to see him in those scenes. Imagine the episode with Stringer and Avon giving each other up... Hell there are a lot of episodes that would be amazing to see the cast all flipped around.
I just finished watching the last episode. I love the wire. fantastic! Omar was my favourite and I love how Gus at the Sun brushed off Omar's death to make space for other stories. great writing and perfect casting
I was raised on The Wire in the Rocky Mountains, but it wasn't until I lived in D.C. that I came to appreciate more of its nuances. Simon's an anthropologist at heart, and the value of The Wire and Treme (especially) is that each character is developed according to a totally believable set of background circumstances. The same is true of The Sopranos. That kind of quality is only achieved by long-ass hours of research, which is why shit shows (literally) on Showtime and Starz like Homeland and Boss will always be a farce for pseudo-enthusiasts --network TV doesn't even enter into the equation. Literature is dead for print, but those creative minds keep coming in the form of a few select series. The Sopranos and The Wire introduced a whole new sense of realism, which Treme has nearly mastered. The only setback to the future progress of great series is the same setback that has doomed creativity for eternity: viewers. It is our opinions that pollute the airwaves with cliche bullshit, as the networks like the writer's name recognition, but ultimately only care about dollars and nonsense. Maybe if we could somehow gather more artists and less critics, this paradigm would shift, but until then, please let us show some respect to those who have enough talent and balls to exercise artistry in this growing era of pathetic cell-phone-keyboard critics.
The Sopranos was amazing (my number #2), but I don't think it had the same possibilities of the wire. There were quite a few long-running arcs in the Sopranos (Chrissy's struggle with addiction, Pussy being a rat, Tony's subtle changes over the years), but it mostly felt like the die was cast -- none of the primary characters had a fundamental change in their outlook. Tony became more and more entrenched, selfish and paranoid. While these stories were all great, nuanced and superbly acted, it felt like whatever would be would be. The Wire felt more organic and alive. While there were plenty of 'static' characters (in that they did not developer much, if at all as a result of their experiences), they also served as a reference point for just how much others changed. Examples: - Herc & Carver - they're practically indistinguishable from one another at the start, but are entirely different people by the end. Why? Colvin. One of the few uppers who wasn't chasing stats managed to make a real policeman of Carver. - Carcetti - idealistic and keen to do the right thing, but once under pressure, quickly reverts to the type of behaviour he railed against so he can continue his rise through the party. - All of the kids. Almost literally all of them. Good kids that are intelligent and caring become cold and hard through necessity. I'm sure most parents would be overjoyed to have a kid like Mike (looks out for his friends, is basically a parent to his brother) Randy (empathetic, whip smart) or Dukie (an amazingly well-rounded guy considering his upbringing), but they're all lost because of their environment. All of these kids have somebody looking out for them (Miss Ella, Carver, Prezbo, Cutty) but it's not enough to save them. They're all better adjusted than Namond, who does make it thanks to an outside intervention. When you're watching, it's totally unclear how things will play out. All you can do is cross your fingers.
You said it all. Cathy is more comical than Clarke Peters aka Lester Freemon but what really made Freemon's character was his methodical approach to the crimes in the show. Whether Cathy could have pulled that off remains to be seen. I totally agree with you on if those characters would have been switched around. Oh brother! LOL
Dominic West looks and sounds like a British politician who ends up on an MTV talk show and talks about his favourite rap music and gets all posh about it lol
The GREATEST show EVER to come out of America. The writing is genius. So ADDICTIVE. The casting is spot on. Every single character in all five seasons is so believable. The Wire is how you make entertainment. Nothing but Nothing comes near The Wire. FanBloodyTastic
When the guy who plays Chris said he auditioned for Marlo for a second I was like, “yeah I could see that.” Then they cut to Jamie Hector and I was like nah never mind lmao
I hope in a few years, when deep fake technology is easier to do, someone will re-edit the whole of The Wire with who they originally went to auditioned for. It’d be like living in alternate universe.
I really like that they didn't just let the actors go when they weren't right for the initial characters they auditioned for, but actually found the right role for each actor on the show. Really cool way of doing it.
Laughed my ass off about Carver getting Stringer. It would've been better if Herc followed it saying he'd auditioned for Avon Barksdale. Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine Herc and Carver play Avon and Stringer, this could have easily turned into a sitcom then.
What a tremendous achievement by HBO and the production team. I recently re-watched all 5 seasons sequentially - and I was transfixed by the acting chops, the directorial excellence, and of course, the writing prowess. Although the show has a LOT of violence, it is mitigated by the nuanced storylines, and the clever editing to keep you attuned to many plots all at the same time. Not to mention the actors able to do American accents seamlessly. I used to think "Breaking Bad" and "The Sopranos" were the 'best tv series ever' and The Wire is at home in their rarified company, no doubt. It's amazing how cheap life is on those mean Baltimore streets. The stupidity and greed of the drug dealers, combined with the petty politics of the mayor's office and police brass bring charisma and color to each episode. Attorney Levy is masterful, and Houk as his "investigator" is priceless in the final season.
Just imagined if these guys actually got the part they originally auditioned for. Imagine the guy who played Chris as Marlo & the guy who played Marlo as Cutty.
The fact that the actor who played Slim was auditioning for Marlo shows you how far they had the show planned out. They must've written all five seasons at once
strange how all these actors were virtually unknown but in the atmosphere of the show the performances are uncanny and soo believable even the way they look
Looking back at the show, I can’t even imagine any of these actors in a different role from what they’ve done in the show. I mean, Carver’s actor as Stringer Bell?! Lance Reddick as Bubbles?!
@@shakir1998 I'd love if you had a timestamp or which part of the episode. looking for an extra in an hour film is like looking for a needle in a haystack lol
I have only seen this brilliant show in 2020, I dont know why, Im a fan of anything like this and Hill Street was a great favorite of mine but it means I could watch it binge style right through. It is nothing short of superb and I cant imagine why I have not seen several of these fine actors in many other films and tv shows, it has more Oscar worthy performances in it than anything I have seen onj TV { I know Oscars are for movie roles but they should make the acception for this show } bubbles alone lights up the screen every time he is onit but so do many many others, fantastic writing, production and acting
