Jamie Hector has shared his thoughts on the possibility of The Wire getting a reboot in the future and whether or not he thinks the hit HBO show, which also starred Dominic West and Idris Elba, would be as successful in this day and age.
Jamie, 48, joined the crime drama television series in 2004 in its third season as an ambitious and ruthless gangster named Marlo Stanfield, who is the head of the eponymous Stanfield Organization in the Baltimore drug trade.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com at the Opportunity Network’s Annual Night of Opportunity Gala in New York City, Hector said that he feels The Wire should be left alone because life is ‘different now.’
‘When something is left on a great note and you try to rewrite the book, or you try to extend the film, or you try to recreate it again – the mindset, the timing, the era, the people – everything has changed, it’s so different, life is different right now,’ he said in response to the idea of a reboot or spinoff series.
Jamie Hector has shared his thoughts on the possibility of hit HBO show The Wire returning for a reboot
Jamie played the role of ruthless gangster Marlo Stanfield in the show from 2004 until 2008
Speaking at the Opportunity Network gala, Jamie said that he thinks The Wire should be left alone because life is ‘different now’
When asked how The Wire would be different if it was filmed in today’s climate, Hector claimed: ‘Well, if it was made today, I think the difference would be artificial intelligence and technology.
‘It would be very difficult for anyone to commit the crimes and for the politicians to do the things that they were doing because there are cameras everywhere now and your phone is listening to you.
‘Before, we were utilizing burners and tossing the burners in the show, but now, that’s not the case,’ the actor added.
‘I think in regards to technology, for the most part, crime or accessible crime, like just doing things on the street and getting away with it, it’s not really as easy as it used to be for people to stand on the corner and sell drugs.’
Following on from the success of The Wire, which concluded in March 2008, Hector went on to star in various other TV shows including Heroes and Power, and he then took on the role of Detective Jerry Edgar in Amazon Prime series Bosch, which ran from 2014 until 2021.
Asked if he prefers playing a good guy or a bad guy, Hector revealed: ‘I prefer playing a flawed guy. An authentically, richly, flawed individual trying to find his way and even if he found his way, he just comes across obstacles that are very difficult to overcome.’
Hector played a cop for seven years in Bosch, and explained that being on the set of a television show for so long is like being part of ‘a family.’
‘We do create community,’ he explained. ‘So when it’s coming to an end, for example on The Wire, every time we heard somebody was gonna get taken out, a seasoned actor, we would all come to set for the most part… some of us, well I would. Then the word started getting around.
Jamie said that The Wire would be different if it was made today because of artificial intelligence and technology
Jamie as Marlo pictured alongside Felicia Pearson as Snoop in season 4 of The Wire
The Wire ran from 2002 until 2008 and also starred Wendell Pierce and Dominic West (right)
Jamie played the role of Detective Jerry Edgar in television series Bosch and Bosch: Legacy
‘But you create a family, it’s standard for both producers and actors, once we’ve been on the show for a long time or the show has done what it’s supposed to do in the hearts and the minds of people,’ Hector said.
‘People that love creativity and people that are affected by it, I think those on set create a family because that bond and those relationships, you can’t really fake it.’
Most recently, Hector starred in the HBO series We Own This City which aired in 2022 and detailed the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force, and the corruption surrounding it.
When asked if We Own This City was somewhat of a spinoff of The Wire, the show’s creator, David Simon, said in a 2022 interview: ‘This is the closest thing you’re going to get to a sequel.’