It's often hailed as the greatest TV show of all time - but this week, The Wire lost one of its brightest stars.
Michael K Williams, best known for playing stick-up man Omar Little, was found dead in his Brooklyn home on Monday.
The 54-year-old, who also starred in HBO's Boardwalk Empire, was found surrounded by illegal paraphernalia, police said.
Previously, the actor spoke candidly of his past drug abuse, admitting he once ended up "in scary places with scary people" and feared he could up in jail or dead.
The Wire, which was an underground hit during its original run, came to an end after five seasons in 2008 but has enjoyed a long legacy on DVD.
While some of its stars have gone on to be named the 'sexiest man alive' and starred in Marvel blockbusters, others have struggled with drug arrests and knife violence, in a dark reflection of the show's gritty storylines - and the fact real criminals were often cast in certain roles.
Dominic West - Kissing scandal with A-list star
He's the new face of Prince Charles in Netflix's The Crown and set to star in the next Downton Abbey film - but Dominic West's first big break came in The Wire.
The British actor, once a school chum of David Cameron at Eton, anchored the show as boozy renegade detective Jimmy McNulty, taking "a lot of coaching" to perfect his American accent.
Get the biggest news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for the Mirror's free newsletters
West, 51, previously told Absolute Radio that his Baltimore drawl was so convincing that fans were left disappointed when he spoke in real life with his English accent.
"Whenever I open my mouth in a room full of Wire fans, I'm used to a sort of deflation of like, 'Oh dear, he's not McNulty,'" he said.
"It's nice that people thought I was American, otherwise, it wouldn't have worked, would it?"
Following The Wire, West earned a Golden Globe playing the love-cheat Noah Solloway in The Affair alongside fellow Brit Ruth Wilson.
Last October, he sparked a Hollywood scandal with A-lister Lily James ahead of their appearance in the BBC drama The Pursuit of Love.
The actor, who is married to Catherine FitzGerald, was spotted kissing and cuddling his co-star on a scooter in Rome last October.
When the series aired earlier this year, fans were left wincing over scenes involving West and James, 32, as they played father and daughter.
Idris Elba - Voted world's sexiest man
Idris Elba could walk into almost any part into the world these days, yet when it came to landing the role of bookish drug lord Stringer Bell on The Wire, he had to work for it.
Speaking on the YouTube web series Hot Ones, Elba explained that as a then-unknown British actor, he had to hide his East London accent - because show creator David Simon wanted 'authentic' American performers.
“David Simon specifically told Alexa Fogel, who was the casting director, ‘Listen, this is about Baltimore'," Elba told host Sean Evans.
"'I don’t want to see no non-Americans for any of these roles, I need people that can really relate the story I’m trying to tell here’ - which is a very fair thing to ask for, considering how observant he is of the culture."
The turning point came in his fourth audition, when an Irish producer got a hunch and asked him about his childhood.
“This was the moment of truth,” Elba continued, “because my parents told me not to lie - you’ve got to look someone in the eye and be honest. I have lied - it’s never worked out for me.”
Thankfully, the 49-year-old landed the break-out role, and has since gone from strength to strength.
Shining in the BBC hit Luther two years after The Wire ended, he's gone on to star in superhero blockbusters like Thor and The Suicide Squad.
In 2018, he was even named the sexiest man alive by People, joining previous winners including Mel Gibson, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and David Beckham.
Luther fans got some much-longed for news earlier this year when Elba confirmed production for a film was beginning in September.
The actor, who plays the show's protagonist DCI John Luther, said he's "so excited" to get to work on the movie, which follows on from the smash hit series.
"We go into production, fingers crossed, in September," the 48-year-old told Variety. "I'm so excited about it, it's been a long time coming."
Michael B Jordan - Teenager turned Marvel supervillain
When he was still a teenager, Hollywood star Michael B Jordan had a powerful guest role as Wallace, a young drug dealer in The Wire.
Appearing for 13 episodes, the character is brutally murdered by fellow gang members in the low-rise projects.
“Wallace was the heart of the show,” Jordan, 34, later told All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of The Wire.
“David Simon wanted to rip that heart out and really use Wallace as a harsh example of sometimes being the victim of your circumstances.”
After he was killed off, Jordan reportedly considered quitting acting before landing the role of Reggie Porter on All My Children.
It paved the way for an incredible rise that saw him break into blockbusters like Creed, where he plays the heir apparent to Rocky Balboa in Sylvester Stallone's legendary boxing franchise.
He also became a Marvel villain in 2018's Black Panther, serving as the nemesis to the late Chadwick Boseman.
Sonja Sohn - Supported young ex-convicts and cocaine arrest
In a predominantly male-dominated show, Sonja Sohn shone as the tough female detective Shakima "Kima" Greggs.
Speaking to NPR, she admitted playing a police officer was initially difficult based on what she'd witness growing up.
"My own perception of cops was that they came into your neighborhood, they roughed up people that you loved for no reason and took them away," the 57-year-old said.
"So I had to overcome all of that to play this cop."
Inspired by the show's unflinching depictions of the criminal underworld, she later launched nonprofit ReWired for Change, which helped young ex-convicts get back on their feet after leaving prison.
She also continued acting, appearing in The Chi - a coming-of-age drama created by Master of None star Lena Waithe - but left the show following a drugs arrest in 2019.
According to TMZ, Soh was was arrested on a drug-possession charge in North Carolina when cocaine and other drug paraphernalia were found in her purse.
Aiden Gillen - Plum role as Game of Thrones baddie
As sleazy mayor Tommy Carcetti, Aiden Gillen admitted he'd landed a part in the "show of a lifetime".
The Irish actor, 53, had already built his reputation starring in the iconic 1999 series Queer as Folk, created by Russell T Davies for Channel 4.
By the time he joined The Wire, the cult show was finally picking up critical acclaim, though he revealed filming was tinged with the sadness of his father's illness and death.
"My time in Baltimore, a city I grew to love quickly, and spent a couple of years in, will forever be spliced with my father's last year," he told Independent.ie.
"Mostly because I was there for a lot of it, walking along the waterfront, learning lines and worrying about him, as much as you can."
Gillen's impressive career has seen him since appear in Peaky Blinders and play a small role in The Dark Knight Rises.
However, after stealing the show as manipulative villain 'Littlefinger' in Game of Thrones, he's arguably starred in the biggest TV show ever and doesn't see The Wire as the role of his career.
"It was definitely the show of a lifetime to be in," he told Den of Geek.
"People have gone on about it so much, but it does live up to its reputation, thankfully. And I loved the part, but I don't think it’s the role of my lifetime, no.
"I was part of an ensemble, and happy with that, but I've played more involved roles, and expect to in the future."
Michael K Williams - Iconic actor mourned after shock death
Perhaps the most iconic character in The Wire was Omar Little, the shotgun-wielding stick-up man who turned the tables on Baltimore's smartest criminals.
He was once even celebrated, although not condoned, by none other than Barack Obama.
And this week, fans were mourning the death of Michael K Williams, who played him throughout the series' run.
The cowboy of Baltimore's modern Wild West, Little produced some of The Wire's most famous lines, including: "You come at the king, you best not miss" and "It's all in the game".
During filming in the first season, Williams revealed he became addicted to cocaine and was evicted from his home in Brooklyn.
In an interview he gave in 2012, he said he ended up "in scary places with scary people" and feared he could up in jail or dead if he continued to take drugs.
He told NJ.com : "I was playing with fire. It was just a matter of time before I got caught and my business ended up on the cover of a tabloid or I went to jail or, worse, I ended up dead.
"When I look back on it now, I don't know how I didn't end up in a body bag."
Overcoming his struggles, Williams later made a star turn as Albert "Chalky" White on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.
He also showed his brilliant comic timing with appearances in sitcoms like Community and F is for Family.
A passionate campaigner, he was also a American Civil Liberties Union ambassador working to help end mass incarceration.
Following his death this week, his former The Wire co-stars paid tribute.
Wendell Pierce, best known for his role as Detective Bunk Moreland, tweeted: “If you don’t know, you better ask somebody. His name was Michael K. Williams.
"He shared with me his secret fears then stepped out into his acting with true courage, acting in the face of fear, not in the absence of it. It took me years to learn what Michael had in abundance.”
Another cast member, Isiah Whitlock Jr, who played Senator Clay Davis, tweeted: “Shocked and saddened by the death of Michael K Williams. One of the nicest brothers on the planet with the biggest heart. An amazing actor and soul. May you RIP. God bless.”
Andre Royo - Battled addiction after filming ended
Another fan favourite, Andre Royo was so convincing as junkie Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins that he was given free heroin in the street by drug dealers during filming.
Speaking to The Sun last year, the 53-year-old explained that working on location was "dangerous" and that crew members were even shot at.
"We were shooting on location, there were no sets, so we were going into places where drug dealers make £10,000 a day and trying to tell them that you were shooting for 18 hours and they can't cross the street," he said.
"They'd tell us we have two hours because you're messing my money up. They said "who the f**k are you", it wasn't like we had Denzel Washington on set. Nobody knew us."
Like Williams, Royo struggled with his own addictions over the course of the show. By the third season, he said he was "depressed" and "drinking" heavily, later seeking help for substance abuse.
More recently, he has appeared as defence attorney Thirsty Rawlings on the FOX drama series Empire and lent his voice to the cartoon Bob's Burgers.
Seth Gilliam - Sent death threats by Walking Dead fans
Seth Gilliam played disillusioned cop Ellis Carver over the course of The Wire, but almost left the series after feeling his character was underappreciated.
"At some point, I was like, 'Is there even film in those cameras?" he told IndieWire. "You sign some guys and then sit 'em on the bench?'"
Thankfully, Carver turned out to have one of the show's many interesting character arcs, and it helped Gilliam, 52, later bag a role as Father Gabriel on AMC's The Walking Dead .
The zombie apocalypse drama has proved such a hit with fans that the actor revealed he's even been sent death threats over his character's storyline.
“Over the years, what’s been surreal to me is sometimes people not being able to see fiction from reality, and assuming I was Father Gabriel and not Seth Gilliam,” he told Digital Spy.
“When they question the choices the character made on the show, and started to send me death threats and stuff. That was surreal.”
In 2015, Gilliam - who also played vet and supernatural specialist Deaton in Teen Wolf - was reportedly arrested for marijuana possession and DUI.
After the star was pulled over for travelling at 107mph in a 55mph zone, he admitted that he had drank 'three beers and a shot', according to TMZ.
A subsequent police search of his car reportedly produced a marijuana cigarette from the arm rest.
Anwan Glover - Stabbed by nightclub thugs
Playing the ruthless gang enforcer Slim Charles was a natural fit for Anwan Glover, who said his own childhood gave him plenty of insight into the criminal lifestyle.
"I was born and raised in D.C, like 30 minutes away, and, you know, it was just like being in it in my own life," he told Maxim .
"But you can get up without having the real wounds."
The actor had a later role in 12 Years a Slave and reunited with David Simon to appear in The Deuce, a drama based around the porn industry starring James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhal.
However, in a grim reflection of the scenes depicted in The Wire, Glover's own life has also been plagued by violence and tragedy.
In 2007, his younger brother was shot and killed, leading Glover to front an anti-violence violence campaign.
The actor is said to have been shot 13 times while growing up in Washington's Columbia Heights district.
And in 2014, he was rushed to hospital after being stabbed during a nightclub attack.
He told police two unknown men attacked him from behind and punched him to the ground.
Someone at the scene on the second floor of Cafe Asia then shouted "he has a knife" before Glover felt a pain in his side, The Washington Post reported.
Got a story? Get in touch by emailing alex.bellotti@reachplc.com
