Exclusive: Catching Up With Andre Royo and Jamie Hector As They Talk About The Wire 20th Anniversary
As we come to celebrate The Wire’s 20th Anniversary, it’s weird to think that two decades have gone by since the show first premiered on HBO and it still feels like it came out yesterday. It really doesn’t feel dated. Although it was ahead of its time, to watch it now is like watching The Godfather over and over again like many do. It was that good. Airing on Sunday nights at 10pm when most folks are home and ready to start to work week, you couldn’t take your off the small screen as these numerous characters captivated you with their performances. It was the ultimate cops and robbers show with skilled writing and excellent performances.
Of the many actors that appeared on the show, some of the ones that stood our were Andre Rojo and Jamie Hector. As one of the few actors to appear in all five seasons of the seasons, Royo made a lasting impression as the drug addicted turned informant Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins. You hated what the streets did to him, but it’s what he knew and how he lived that kept him alive. Royo played the hell out of this role and his scenes with Kima (played by Sonja Sohn) should have merited him at least one Emmy nomination. But that’s for another story to be written. Rojo has since had incredible roles after leaving the show. He appeared in Anthony Hemingway’s Red Tails, Lila & Eve with Viola Davis and Jennifer Lopez, and Hunter Gatherer, which netted him an award at the 2016 SXSW festival for “Special jury recognition for best actor.”
As for Jamie Hector, who played the feared Marlo Stanfield and was introduced in Season 3 as an up-and-coming drug player, this was also his breakout role. For a lot of the actors on the show, it was their first series and HBO was the place to be discovered. It was was the main cable channel at the time and with this series being as hot as it was, folks were getting the bootleg VHS tapes and DVDs just to watch these incredible actors. Hector quickly established himself to be reckon with as one of the main characters in the later seasons. With Wood Harris and Idris Elba on their way out, Hector stepped up to the plate and continued to breathe more life into the show with his performance. Outside of the show, he appeared in Jerry LaMothe’s Blackout with Susan Kelechi Watson, Night Catches Us with Kerry Washington, and the Tupac Shakur film All Eyez on Me. Hector came back to the small screen and brought another character to life when he played Det. Jerry Edgar for seven seasons in Prime Video’s Bosch. He recently reunited with some members of The Wire’s cast in HBO’s new series We Own This City.
Blackfilmandtv.com’s Wilson Morales caught up with Royo and Hector as they reflected on their years on The Wire as the show turns 20.