'Wire' Actor Talks T.V.

The Crimson recently sat down with actor Jim True-Frost, whose acclaimed television series “The Wire” recently aired its final episode on HBO. True-Frost, who lives in Cambridge, also starred in the American Repertory Theatre’s production of “Julius Caesar.”



The Harvard Crimson: Let’s talk about “The Wire” first. What was it like working in a setting like Baltimore?

Jim True-Frost: We got a lot of support in Baltimore. The locals were very happy to see us. They treated us like local heroes. The underclass of a city like Baltimore is not something that you normally see portrayed on television. And especially a lot of police in the city felt like our show, as a “cop show,” got it right. I didn’t live in Baltimore constantly when we were filming; I went back and forth between there and Cambridge. But I came to feel at home there.

THC: What was it like changing the type of role you played from the first season of the show to the fourth, as a cop who becomes a teacher?

JTF: My character was definitely modeled after the career of Ed [Burns, writer for “The Wire”], but I wasn’t supposed to directly represent him. The job of teacher in an inner-city Baltimore school is difficult. In the first year as teacher, you’re just trying to make it through. Teachers come and go all the time, and the students don’t trust you. The biggest challenge is just trying to keep a semblance of order, making connections, building friendships. Some of the poorer students don’t have even basic needs met, such as getting the necessary textbooks or getting proper nutrition. You have to take those things into account.

THC: And was there much room for actors to implement their own styles on “The Wire?” Was there any improvisation or on-set changes?

JTF: The script for “The Wire” was painstakingly written. There was no expectation of ad-libbing. Every episode took many rewrites; the script was very precise. As far as casting went, the actors on the show were very professional. [Creator David Simon and Ed Burns] trusted the actors to bring those skills to bear. Casting is the biggest area of control the producers have. Once you’ve been cast, then you’re expected to put your own individual imprint on the role.

In the fourth season classroom scenes, only the four leads [child actors] had acting experience. But there were lots of other kids with supporting parts. I was very impressed with their professionalism, and I could tell they were grateful for the opportunity. They were no different from the other more experienced actors; but sometimes having that many actors on the set all at the same time was a little hectic.

THC: What was the most challenging scene for you as an actor in the show?

JTF: There were a lot of challenging scenes, for different reasons. At the end of Season 3, I get interrogated after shooting another cop by accident—that was an intense and emotional acting challenge. Also, when the wiretap picks up, it’s very tense and complicated. So sometimes it was a challenge for us actors to just keep track of the story. The board that we set up with the names of drug dealers on it as the season progresses, it’s like a puzzle; it’s the same type of board that real police use when doing investigations.

And a scene in the fourth season, where one female student cuts another in the face, it was very scary and sad. A lot of kids from city schools really understand that rage and hurt. Our young actors tapped into that. The scene was realistically written; it’s an important message and needed to be said.

THC: Okay, now let’s talk about “Julius Caesar,” which just ended production. How did you personally prepare for the role of Brutus? Any particular methods? Did you stand in front of a mirror?

JTF: I have worked on Shakespeare before, but this is my first full production. I have done other plays that demanded a similar kind of style and poetic language, such as “The Rivals” and “Playboy of the Western World.” This production of Julius Caesar was rigorous and keenly focused on mastering the text. So even though the director’s vision for the play was unconventional, he put us through our paces in a conventional way; for the first two weeks, all we did was just read the play at the table and discuss aspects of the play’s textual analysis. We had rehearsal eight hours a day, so by the time we started staging the play (in the third week) we had already almost memorized all the lines after two weeks reading out loud.

THC: What was it like working with the director? How did you feel about the unusual style and mood of the production?

JTF: [Director Arthur Nauzyciel] is excellent. His visual sense is really sophisticated, and he loves actors and cares deeply about the performance. In a way, he tries to make his productions both shocking and beautiful. He explained many of his ideas for the production at our first meeting. He had a lot of imaginative associations and instinctual reasons for his choices. He had a very strong vision and we trusted him with it. We were excited; he’s a very intelligent artist, and he knows how to use the stage.

THC: What about the little dance number at the end of the play? I found that to be a bit unusual for Shakespeare.

JTF: Well, it’s certainly unexpected. However, there are records of a German traveler who had visited the Globe Theatre’s very first production of the play in the 1601, and he remarked “The dance at the end of ‘Julius Caesar’ was performed very well!” so there was a historical example for the direction we took.

THC: Last question. Have you had to deal with some fame after “The Wire”? And what are your future acting ambitions and plans?

JTF: Yes! I do get recognized quite a lot on the street. The Wire has ended, but one of the benefits from Netflix and things like that is that many are still watching the show. More and more people come up to me and tell me that they enjoy it.

I have a part in a film which will be showing at New York’s Gen Art Film Festival this week, and which opens in July, called “Diminished Capacity”, with Alan Alda and Matthew Broderick. And in June, I’m starting a four-month stint in the play “August: Osage County” with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company on Broadway—it’s a sort of epic drama about a family in Oklahoma dealing with the disappearance of the father.