One of television history’s most shocking character deaths was certainly the demise of Stringer Bell, the antagonist played byIdris Elbain the first three seasons ofThe Wire. The acclaimed HBO series introduced Elba in the role in 2002, decades before popular TV shows killing off main characters had become fairly normalized. That’s why fans were blown away when Stringer Bell was killed off in season 3 of the crime drama series.
Chad Colemanwas also featured onThe Wireas reformed criminal Dennis “Cutty” Wise. In a new interview withHorror Geek Life, Coleman reflected upon his time onThe Wire,along with the other TV shows he’s been on. When asked if it’s always hard to say goodbye to a character if he plays one who gets killed off, Coleman explains how he steps into every role knowing that it could be a real possibility, going back toThe Wirewhen he saw Stringer Bell’s death scene. That has always had Coleman more focused on making an impact while he’s there rather than dreading the moment his character may die.
“They all have a connection to me, really, but early on, when they killed off Idris Elba inThe Wire,I realized anything was possible (laughs). From that point on, everywhere I went, I would think to myself, ok, just remember, they killed off Idris. We even had a conversation, Idris and myself, prior to that, and with me going, no way, man, they’re not going to do that, no way. So after that, it was always in the back of my head, and I realized you are here for a good time, not a long time, so make an impact.”
Related:We Own This City First Look Teases Jon Bernthal Crime Series From the Creators of The Wire
The WireChanged Television Forever
Chad Coleman says thatThe Wirechanged television forever in the sense that main characters were not typically killed off without warning in such a way. It has him feeling proud of howThe Wireis still revered to this day for how the show changed what producers were willing to let happen in television.
“The death of Idris, which was the birthplace of killing main characters with no warning, and young producers watching that, it really opened their eyes. They now wanted to do that as well. Network TV was different. They would say, no, you’re not going to do that, but when the construct changed to cable, the thought was, yeah, we can go at this a totally different way. The birthchild of that era, all those young producers, are now blessing us in the streaming world, not being cookie-cutter or predictable.”
