HR: Uh, my feeling about street dialogue is, if I don’t understand a word of it, it’s gotta be authentic…

* laughter *

HR: … and I have to tell you, as a huge fan of this show, there’s a lot of stuff I have no idea what they’re saying. And I think the genius of the writing is that it doesn’t make a lot of difference. But my question, to actors who play street characters, was this dialogue that you were familiar with, did you have to learn it, did you have to be coached? Michael.

MKW: I did a lot of research on the Baltimore dialect. Um, I had to go into the street. I… I listened. In fact, the first season, man, I just… “That’s gotta be a typo…”

* laughter *

MKW: … you know, but, um, as I… as I had the pleasure of meeting the city of Baltimore, you know, I’m not, you know, I’m not the kind of person to sit around in the hotel and be… we’re in the city, the city is my co-worker, the city is part of the show. I had to learn. I didn’t want Omar to be conceived as anything Brooklyn, or New York, or just not Baltimore. I didn’t want him dressing like anything except Baltimore. They have their own code, the way they dress, the way they lace their sneakers, to where they talk, the type of food they eat, and I just… I committed myself as best I can to all of that, and I wanted that dimension too. Me, personally, I worked very hard on that, (Baltimore accent) “To, do”… (* laughs *) I had to find it... I had to find it, yeah.

HR: Is that the same for you also, uh, Chad, Andre, and Jamie?

CC: Well, I was born in Richmond, VA. I spent a lot of time in the Baltimore/D.C. area, so there’s an aspect of my cadence that kinda slides in. So, um, no, I kinda just fell into it, you know? It wasn’t… (to Michael) I admire you for your work, brother…

* laughter *

CC: You know I do, Mike, I got mad respect. Um…

RW: Don’t make it look easy, baby…

CC: No, uh, well, you know what? I mean, I… I, you know, hey, I was drawing off some past experiences that helped resonate, and I’m a trained actor as well, so… I merged the two together.

* laughter *

WP: Good answer.

HR: Uh, Jamie.

JH: You know what, I read the script, and I spoke to Ed. I told him I wanted to go out into the field, he said, “Nope, don’t do it.” He said, “Don’t go out into the field, it’s too much going on out there.” I said alright, so I just immersed myself into that, and I just tried my best to understand it. It’s different, the way they speak, from Brooklyn, but, I mean, I took my time with it.

HR: Andre.

AR: Uh, they were just happy when they could understand me. They were just…

* laughter *

AR: … they were very happy when… I mean, I used to talk crazy, and they had to tell me, “Alright, slow it down. Be a little more articulate with some of the words,” you know.

* laughter *

AR: And then I hung out… I met a woman named Fran, who, I guess was the story, the point of story in The Corner.

HR: Yeah.

AR: And she was still around when we got out there, and I asked her--

HR: Yeah, Khandi Alexander, yeah.

AR: Well, I met the real Fran.

HR: Oh, the real Fran. Okay.

AR: Yes, the real Fran. And she took me out, you know, to the streets, and I went to a couple of rehab spots, and then I met a couple of, uh, people that she knew. And I really hung out with, uh, you know, people in the streets, and I just really had to get that feel of what the desperation, or the, the way it feels to be always hungry and looking for stuff. And I, I did certain things to get that kind of awareness, uh, embody that kind of awareness. As far as the tone, or the dialect, it was, you know, it was something that just after awhile, you just kinda catch an ear for it, and, you know, it kinda sticks sometimes. Sometimes, it goes, and, you know, I slur. When it goes, I mumble a little bit, and…

* laughter *

AR: … it all falls into place, you know, so…

WP: Also, I just wanted to share… people are so authentic about their study of human behavior, that in the first year, I’ll never forget that, uh, Dominic and I shot a scene where we arrested Bodie, in the middle of McCullough Homes, on a sofa. And we came up to the sofa, and arrested him, then we leave. And they called lunch. And we were walking to lunch and Dominic turned to me and said, “I thought we just did this scene.” And I said, “What do you mean?” And he said, “Cause the kid, the guys are on the sofa again.” I said, “Oh, no, those are the real guys.”

* laughter *

WP: Because, especially the first year, uh, there were… the hoffers were kind of… we kinda… we were at real places, so they would fold back into the set when we would go off…

* laughter *

AR: When we yelled cut, they went to work.

WP: Right. And uh, Dominic… I said, “Dominic, no, that’s… we’re not shooting this scene. This is the real deal.”

* laughter *

WP: And that’s just a tribute… and I say that because it’s a real tribute to the actors, you know, the actors, uh, on the show. I… uh, it’s a huge cast, so we don’t all work together all the time. Um, and, but… and we’re fans of the show also.

JH: Yeah.

WP: And I’ll never forget, I was sharing this with someone. I met the kids only at the wrap party. And, occasionally, you know, in the, in the makeup trailer. And it was, you know, (mimes handshakes) “Hello, Mr. Pierce,” and, “How ya doing,” and, you know, “I’m an honor roll student here,” and “I’m doing this…” And I was really concerned. I’m like, “These little actors, they’re not going to be able to play these characters.”

* laughter *

WP: And then I saw the (finished) show. And it’s a real tribute to them, because they are the complete opposite of the roles that they play. They’re really wonderful actors.

* applause *

WP: And I know they’re not here, so I just really wanted to say that.

ED: You know, I really have to say, it’s, you know, it’s one of the first shows I’ve ever done where everybody supports everybody else. I did, uh, I (directed) Bodie’s last stand.

HR: Oh, no.

ED: And uh, and he had been with the show since, since the beginning. And um, the night that we shot that, everybody came down to see him out the right way.

HR: Yeah, for those who don’t know, Bodie got whacked.

* laughter *

ED: Yeah. And he had been with the show since the beginning. But, but just the camaraderie among everybody. That’s one of the wonderful things about going to Baltimore and shooting an episode, is that, uh, everybody’s there for everybody else.

HR: Well, some of you talked about doing research. I know Deirdre, your character is having an affair with a Black Baltimore police captain. And I was just wondering…

* laughter *
* guffaws *

AR: Wow…

(Deirdre mock gasps)

HR: I’ll… I’ll… I’ll leave it.

DL: It’s not an affair…

* laughter *

DL: Sorry…

AR (singing): Awkward moment…

HR: Uh, David, why did you make uh… pardon?

DS: They’re in a committed relationship.
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