The Wire - Top 50 Characters

As we love to do here at The Quiet Pool Perspective, we have ranked the beloved characters of The Wire.  This was such a big deal that I took to the Poolie voters to help me crown the best of all-time.  So without further ado, here are the Top 50 characters of The Wire as voted on by me, Ttime, Jaydon, Larry, Mags, Cecil, Tyson, and the Bonz.

A list of 50 characters was sent out to all voters, and each person selected his 20 favorites and ranked them in order.  The points next to each person's name were totaled by giving 20 points for a first place vote, 19 for second, and so on.  A complete list of each person's vote is posted at the end.

40.
William Rawls - 0
Theresa D'agostino - 0
The Deacon - 0
Scotty Templeton - 0
Rhonda Pearlman - 0
Major Valchek - 0
Leander Sydnor - 0
Kima Greggs - 0
Jay Landsman - 0
Ervin Burrell - 0
Clarence Royce - 0

39. Beadie Russell - 3

38. Poot Carr - 4

36.
Ziggy Sobotka - 5
Cheese Wagstaff - 5

34.
Spiros Vondopoulos - 7
Gus Haynes - 7

33. Brother Mouzone - 8

32. Wallace - 9

31. Nick Sobotka - 10

30. Maurice Levy - 11

29. Randy Wagstaff - 12

27.
Norman Wilson - 14
Herc Haulk - 14

24.
Tommy Carcetti - 17
Namond Brice - 17
Frank Sobotka - 17

23. Roland Pryzbylewski - 23

22. Cutty Wise - 25

21. Dukie Weems - 30

20. Clay Davis - 34

19. D'Angelo Barksdale - 35

17.
Ellis Carver - 38
Bunny Colvin - 38

15.
Prop Joe Stewart - 45
Bubbles Cousins - 45

13.
Snoop Pearson - 47
Cedric Daniels - 47

12. Wee-Bey Brice - 50

11. Chris Partlow - 53

10. Slim Charles - 65

9. Michael Lee - 70

8. Bodie Broadus - 94

7. Bunk Moreland - 96

6. Avon Barksdale - 99

5. Marlo Stanfield - 100

4. Lester Freamon - 117

3. Omar Little - 123

2. Stringer Bell - 128

1. Jimmy McNulty - 137

Preseason Character Rankings

Honorable Mentions

Don Draper
Jon Hamm- Mad Man

Ari Gold
Jeremy Piven- Entourage

Ben Linus
Michael Emerson- Lost

Eric Northman
Alexander Skarsgard- True Blood

Matt Saracen
Zach Gilford- Friday Night Lights

Nathan Scott
James Lafferty- One Tree Hill

Top 20

20. Chloe O'Brian
Mary Lynn Rajskub- 24

19. Mark Sloan
Eric Dane- Grey's Anatomy

18. Johnny Chase
Kevin Dillon- Entourage

17. Alex Russo
Selena Gomez- Wizards of Waverly Place

16. Greg House
Hugh Laurie- House, MD

15. Jack Bauer
Kiefer Sutherland- 24

14. Morgan Grimes
Joshua Gomez- Chuck

13. Jack Donaghy
Alec Baldwin- 30 Rock

12. Julian Baker
Austin Nichols- One Tree Hill

11. Gabriel Sylar
Zachary Quinto- Heroes

10. Miley Stewart
Miley Cyrus- Hannah Montana

9. Michael Scott
Steve Carell- The Office

8. Cappie
Scott Michael Foster- Greek

7. Chuck Bartowski
Zach Levi- Chuck

6. Tim Riggins
Taylor Kitsch- Friday Night Lights

5. Dwight Schrute
Rainn Wilson- The Office

4. Patrick Jane
Simon Baker- The Mentalist

3. Larry David
Larry David- Curb Your Enthusiasm

2. Tracy Jordan
Tracy Morgan- 30 Rock

1. James 'Sawyer' Ford
Josh Holloway- Lost

Female Movie Characters: 10-1

10. Lucy Whitmore- Drew Barrymore in 50 First Dates
















9. Jules Harbor- Amy Smart in Varsity Blues





















8. Padme Amidala- Natalie Portman in Revenge of the Sith





















7. Emily Friehl- Amanda Peet in A Lot Like Love





















6. Becky Jackson- Julia Stiles in A Guy Thing
















5. Rosalee Futch- Kate Bosworth in Win a Date With Tad Hamilton





















4. Claire Cleary- Rachel McAdams in Wedding Crashers
















3. Nancy Hayes- Sara Foster in The Big Bounce





















2. Rachel Jansen- Mila Kunis in Forgetting Sarah Marshall





















1. Andie Anderson- Kate Hudson in How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days

Female Movie Characters: 20-11

20. Julianne Potter- Julia Roberts in My Best Friend's Wedding





















19. Cassandra Wong- Tia Carrere in Wayne's World





















18. Polly Prince- Jennifer Aniston in Along Came Polly















17. Kate Veatch- Christine Taylor in Dodgeball





















16. Isabel Fuentes- Salma Hayek in Fools Rush In





















15. Elizabeth Swann- Keira Knightley in Pirates of the Caribbean





















14. Theresa Jones- Zoe Saldana in Guess Who





















13. Cher Horowitz- Alicia Silverstone in Clueless





















12. Sara Thomas- Kate Beckinsale in Serendipity





















11. Sara Melas- Eva Mendes in Hitch

Female Movie Characters: 30-21

Since I don't think there are enough good female characters to round out a top ten, here is my top 30 female movie characters that I would want to have sparks with.

30. Kate Reynolds- Tea Leoni in The Family Man





















29. Ashley Carlson- Sarah Roemer in Disturbia
















28. Yvaine- Claire Danes in Stardust
















27. Babe Bennett- Winona Ryder in Mr. Deeds
















26. Daphne Reynolds- Amanda Bynes in What a Girl Wants






















25. Annabelle Bransford- Jodie Foster in Maverick






















24. Maya- Liv Tyler in Jersey Girl
















23. Rachel Wright- Famke Janssen in I Spy
















22. Monica Wright- Sanaa Lathan in Love and Basketball






















21. Carley Bobby- Leslie Bibb in Talladega Nights

Combining Lists

I don't know how I could live with myself if I didn't take all of these top ten lists I've been compiling and put them to good use. Let's see who ended up as the consensus top character based on the lists I used. Also I will be figuring out who the top actor from the lists. Normal scoring was used, with 10 points for a number one, 9 for second and so on. You needed to make two lists to be considered. Oh and Ty's list was thrown out.

Top Characters

15. Chester Lee- Rodney Dangerfield in Ladybugs (5 points)

14. Jack Kelly- Christian Bale in Newsies (6 points)

11. Frank Slade (left)- Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman (8 points)



11. R.P. McMurphy- Jack Nicholson in Cuckoo's Nest (8 points)

11. Ron Burgundy- Will Ferrell in Anchorman (8 points)

10. Doc Holliday- Val Kilmer in Tombstone (9 points)

8. Tyler Durden (left)- Brad Pitt in Fight Club (10 points)



8. Buddy the Elf- Will Ferrell in Elf (10 points)

6. The Joker- Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight (11 points)

6. Will Hunting (left)- Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting (11 points)

5. Jack Sparrow- Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean (15 points)



4. Bob Wiley- Bill Murray in What About Bob? (16 points)

2. Roy O'Bannon- Owen Wilson in Shanghai Noon (19 points)

2. Bartholomew Hunt- Chris Farley in Almost Heroes (19 points)

1. Verbal Kint (left)- Kevin Spacey in Usual Suspects (25 points)



Top Actors

15. Val Kilmer- 9 points (2 selections)

15. Dustin Hoffman- 9 points (2 selections)

11. Brad Pitt- 10 points (2 selections)

11. Humphrey Bogart (left)- 10 points (2 selections)

11. Jack Nicholson- 10 points(3 selections)



11. Christian Bale- 10 points (3 selections)

10. Matt Damon- 11 points (2 selections)

9. Marlon Brando- 13 points (2 selections)

8. Bill Murray (left)- 16 points (2 selections)

6. Morgan Freeman- 18 points (2 selections)

6. Will Ferrell- 18 points (4 selections)



5. Chris Farley- 19 points (2 selections)

4. Heath Ledger- 20 points (3 selections)

3. Johnny Depp- 22 points (3 selections)

2. Kevin Spacey- 25 points (3 selections)

1. Owen Wilson (left)- 37 points (4 selections)





I haven't seen a smokeshow this bad since Mr.Piglover Jordan was talkin' smack back in '06. O-Dog brought home the 'chip and did it in style. Give it up for Mr. Owen K. Wilson III.

Ty B-O-M-B

I'll preface this with the fact that this is not an actual list, but definitely a funny one. Anyone who knows Ty well, knows that he loves Brendan Fraser. When we would play B-O-M-B in college, Ty would use Brendan Fraser any chance he could get. For those of you unfamiliar to the game of B-O-M-B, it was brought to VC through the Juice Box (someone correct me if I am wrong). It is a game played with two-100 players, but best to start with 7-10 players. The player to start names a movie, the next player names an actor from that movie, and the next names a different movie that actor is in. For example, Lar would always start with Ocean's Eleven, I would say Scott Caan, Mags would say Varsity Blues, Skip would then say Jon Voight. Then it would get to Stumpy, who would have no idea and he could then take a guess or challenge Skip to name another Jon Voight movie. If Skip names one, Stumpy gets a letter, if he doesn't Skip gets the letter. Once you get B-O-M-B you're out and play continues with the next player. Obviously no repeat movies or actors are allowed in one round of play. A round being the time it takes for someone to get a letter.

The interesting thing about Ty playing this game would be that if he didn't know an actor from a movie, he would always say Brenden Fraser. I'd say Bottle Rocket, Ty would have no idea and he'd say Brendan Fraser. When Ty would start a game or a round it was most certainly the Mummy or The Mummy Returns. To this day I still don't know if he was faking a little with his lack of knowledge for the comedic value of guessing Brendan Fraser or School Ties every time a difficult one came around.

Ty's Top Ten

10. David Greene- Brendan Fraser– School Ties

9. George of the Jungle- Brendan Fraser- George of the Jungle

8. Dudley Do Right- Brendan Fraser- Dudley Do Right

7. No Such Character- Brendan Fraser- The Godfather

6. Link- Brendan Fraser- Link

5. Trevor Anderson- Brendan Fraser- Journey to the Center of the Earth (hasn't seen it yet)

4. Elliot Richards- Brendan Fraser- Bedazzled

3. Rick O'Connell- Brendan Fraser- Mummy In the Orient (not actual title)

2. Rick O'Connell- Brendan Fraser- Mummy Returns

1. Rick O'Connell (left)- Brendan Fraser- The Mummy

Silver Fox and Chicks

Here we are with the final top ten list. The Silver Fox made a list of 25 which included many repeat actors and more than a few chicks. What is that? Does he actually think women could crack a top 100 list, let alone top 25? Lets get serious fox. Also I know you are a Dylan fan, but the late great Heath Ledger as Robbie in I'm Not There at number two? Ridiculous. Did you not see Dark Knight?

Silver Fox's Top Ten

10. Lewis Scott- Damon Wayans- Celtic Pride

9. JJ Jake Gittes- Jack Nicholson- Chinatown

8. Frank Slade- Al Pacino- Scent of a Woman

7. Thomas Fowler- Michael Caine- Quiet American

6. Idi Amin- Forest Whitaker- Last King of Scotland

5. Walter E. Kurtz- Marlon Brando- Apocalypse Now

4. Llewellyn Moss (left)- Josh Brolin- No Country For Old Men

3. Mookie- Spike Lee- Do the Right Thing

2. Robbie- Heath Ledger- I'm Not There

1. Matthew Poncelet- Sean Penn- Dead Man Walking

He's The Boss

With a last second entry, The Boss has joined in on the list making enjoyment. In the interest of keeping my job I will now skip all of the smarmy comments and say that I thoroughly enjoyed this list.

The Boss's Top Ten

10. Mickey Goldmill- Burgess Meredith- Rocky

9. Simon Wilder- Joe Pesci- With Honors

8. Ben Braddock- Dustin Hoffman- The Graduate

7. The Joker- Heath Ledger- The Dark Knight

6. Doc Holliday- Val Kilmer- Tombstone

5. Jonathan Shale- Tom Berenger- The Substitute

4. Will Hunting- Matt Damon- Good Will Hunting

3. Irwin Fletcher- Chevy Chase- Fletch

2. Verbal Kint- Kevin Spacey- The Usual Suspects

1. Joe Clark (left)- Morgan Freeman- Lean on Me

Jay-sone's Decade

As my superior and probably my most loyal reader, Jay-sone gets in on the list making action with his top ten characters. This dude really had himself a good time watching movies in the 90s. All but one of his top ten characters were created in the 1990s. Some might say that Jay needs to get with the times, but not me, I am a big fan of the nineties...great decade. As far as decades of the past century go, the 90s are up there for me as one of the best.

Top Decades

1. Sixties
2. Nineties
3. Twenties
4. Seventies
5. Eighties
6. Fifties
7. Aughts
8. Teens
9. Forties
10. Thirties

Jay-sone's Top Ten

10. Troy Dyer- Ethan Hawke- Reality Bites

9. Tyrone C. Love- Marlon Wayans- Requiem for a Dream

8. Andrew Beckett- Tom Hanks- Philadelphia

7. R.P. McMurphy- Jack Nicholson- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

6. Frank Slade- Al Pacino- Scent of a Woman

5. Mr. Pink- Steve Buscemi- Reservoir Dogs

4. Raoul Duke- Johnny Depp- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

3. Banky Edwards- Jason Lee- Chasing Amy

2. Rob Gordon- John Cusack- High Fidelity

1. Jeffrey Lebowski (left)- Jeff Bridges- The Big Lebowski

The Lochness Quest

So late last year as I was gearing up for graduation, Lochness was deciding to end his collegiate basketball career early. A junior this year he made the choice to quit Brewers basketball so that he could have the time to enjoy other endeavors. Now you and I both know that this meant that he needed more time to finish off the IMDB Top 250. Eight of his top ten characters come from top 250 movies. His television watching has certainly not increased from what I can tell over the past half a year. Anytime I ask the Locksmith about Lost or Office he has no idea what I'm talking about. This is a dude who truly wishes he was on the up and up in the television world, but fails miserably.

Lochness's Top Ten

10. Dr. Strangelove- Peter Sellers- Dr. Strangelove

9. Sam Spade- Humphrey Bogart- Maltese Falcon

8. Bernard Campbell- Vince Vaughn- Old School

7. Teddy KGB- John Malkovich- Rounders

6. Sanjuro Kuwabatake- Toshiro Mifune- Yojimbo

5. Maximus- Russell Crowe- Gladiator

4. Terry Malloy- Marlon Brando- On the Waterfront

3. Johnny Clay- Sterling Hayden- The Killing

2. Jesus Quintana- John Turturro- The Big Lebowski

1. Verbal Kint (left)- Kevin Spacey- Usual Suspects

No Sanka for Jaydon

Being the great Jamaican that he is, I was very surprised when I didn't find Sanka Coffie in his top ten movie characters. Actually I was surprised when his entire top didn't look like this...

1. Sanka Coffie- Cool Runnings
2. Derice Bannock- Cool Runnings
3. Yul Brenner- Cool Runnings
4. Junior Bevil- Cool Runnings
5. Mr. Coolidge- Cool Runnings
6. Momma Coffie- Cool Runnings
7. Push Cart Derby Starter- Cool Runnings
8. Joy Bannock- Cool Runnings
9. Whitby Bevil Sr.- Cool Runnings
10. Ben Bannock(only in a picture)- Cool Runnings

Either way I was a big fan of Jaydon's list, especially since he gave some love to Jack Kelly and Ronald F. Burgandy. Also big ups for Linderman getting the number one spot.

Jaydon's Top Ten

10. James Bond(left)- Daniel Craig- Casino Royale

9. Jack Kelly- Christian Bale- Newsies

8. Willy Wonka- Gene Wilder- Willy Wonka

7. R.P. McMurphy- Jack Nicholson- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

6. Ron Burgundy- Will Ferrell- Anchorman

5. Hannibal Lecter- Anthony Hopkins- Silence of the Lambs

4. The Joker- Heath Ledger- The Dark Knight

3. Borat Sagdiyev- Sacha Baron Cohen- Borat

2. Tyler Durden- Brad Pitt- Fight Club

1. Alex DeLarge- Malcolm McDowell- A Clockwork Orange

Old Man T-Time

For a dude that prides himself in loving old movies, and by old movies I mean anything before 1980, Timothy H. Time has six new movie characters to four old ones. This is such a slap in the face to the 300 dvds he has from the 50s and 60s. While we're on the subject of list making, during the summers I worked at the fabulous DeLorme Map Company, T-time and I would make lists of everything and anything and then vote on them. One of our original goals was to end up with a master list of the greatest people in the world (actors, athletes, musicians, actual people we know, etc.) Due to the fact that I am now residing in CT this never happened, and aren't we all sad because of it.

T-time's Top Ten

10. Captain Ron- Kurt Russell- Captain Ron

9. Mr. Miyagi- Pat Morita- Karate Kid

8. Ivanhoe Martin- Jimmy Cliff- The Harder They Come

7. Doc Holliday- Val Kilmer- Tombstone

6. Eddie Felson- Paul Newman- The Hustler

5. Captain James Hook- Dustin Hoffman- Hook


4. David Ruffin- Leon- The Temptations

3. Rick Blaine- Humphrey Bogart- Casablanca

2. Dignan- Owen Wilson- Bottle Rocket

1. Man With No Name (left)- Clint Eastwood- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Larry's Legends

And starting at forward, a 6'3" senior captain, the leading scorer in Vassar College history, Liberty League Player of the Year....Larry Aveetoobahbalabeeeyyyyyy!!! So not only does Lar enjoy making lists as much as the next guy, but he can make some dang good lists. This one I thoroughly enjoyed.

Larry's Top Ten

10. Tyler Durden- Brad Pitt- Fight Club

9. Roy McAvoy- Kevin Costner- Tin Cup

8. Ron Burgandy- Will Ferrell- Anchorman

7. Will Hunting- Matt Damon- Good Will Hunting

6. Westley- Cary Elwes- The Princess Bride

5. Verbal Kint- Kevin Spacey- Usual Suspects

4. John Creasy- Denzel Washington- Man on Fire


3. Red (left)- Morgan Freeman- Shawshank Redemption

2. Roy O'Bannon- Owen Wilson- Shanghai Noon

1. Captain Jack Sparrow- Johnny Depp- Pirates of the Caribbean

Classic JJ

I have six different dude's top ten movie character lists that I will post. The order that I'll post them in will be how closely they resemble my likes and dislikes...With that let's see the greatness of

JJ's Top Ten


10. Ryan Harrison- Leslie Nielsen- Wrongfully Accused

9. Vernon Baxter- Kevin Nealon- Principal Take a Holiday

8. Chester Lee- Rodney Dangerfield- Ladybugs

7. Alfred Borden (left)- Christian Bale- The Prestige

6. Derek Huff- Adam Scott- Step Brothers

5. Kevin McCallister- Macauley Culkin- Home Alone 2

4. Buddy the Elf- Will Ferrell- Elf

3. Bob Wiley- Bill Murray- What About Bob?

2. Randolph Dupree- Owen Wilson- You, Me and Dupree

1. Bartholemew Hunt- Chris Farley- Almost Heroes

Movie Characters: 10-1

10. Mike O'Hara- Daniel Stern- Celtic Pride
Mike: “It's just Jimmy. He's in there whipping up a bunt cake.”





















9. Chester Lee- Rodney Dangerfield- Ladybugs
Chester: “What a lady. When she walks in a room, mice jump on chairs. At Christmas they hang her and kiss the mistletoe. I tell ya if she went to a dog show, she'd win.”


8. Buddy the Elf- Will Ferrell- Elf
Buddy: “I thought maybe we could make ginger bread houses, and eat cookie dough, and go ice skating, and maybe even hold hands.”



7. Jack Kelly- Christian Bale- Newsies
Jack: Well, that's the first thing ya gotta learn, headlines don't sell papes. Newsies sell papes.”















6. Captain Jack Sparrow- Johnny Depp- Pirates of the Caribbean
Captain Jack: “When you marooned me on that God forsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing, mate....I'm Captain Jack Sparrow.”

















5. Dr. Evil- Mike Myers- Austin Powers in Goldmember
Dr. Evil: “I'd just like to point out that no one else in my gene pool runs like a girl.”



4. Gil Renard- Robert De Niro- The Fan
Gil: “A simple thank you would have been nice.”














3. Bob Wiley- Bill Murray- What About Bob?
Fay: “You want more salad Bob?”
Bob: “Yeah, I think I do...pile it high and deep would ya please?”



2. Bartholomew Hunt- Chris Farley- Almost Heroes
Hunt: “Fearsome beasts of the mountains and plains. I've seen a bear so powerful...that it snapped a man's body in half with his huge jaws.”



1. Roy O'Bannon- Owen Wilson- Shanghai Noon
Roy: “Oh nothing I just killed him, how'd you do?”