Ask Not for Whom the Bell Tolls

Just poppin' back in for a quick second to point out this entertaining NYT article for you Wire fans out there. It includes some amusing tidbits on the actor who plays the recently whacked Stringer Bell:

But it is unlikely that anyone in the Sunday-night audience was as stunned as Idris Elba, the 32-year-old actor who has brought Stringer to life since "The Wire" began three years ago. "When I first read the script I was like: 'What? No! This isn't supposed to happen,' " Mr. Elba said over dinner at an Upper West Side restaurant. "I was deeply disappointed. It was a surprise, a complete surprise."

We forget in all the drama of a gangland murder, that after the fake blood is cleaned up, some poor sap is now unemployed. Congrats on your blaze of glory, dude, but time to dust up that resume pending any calls from HBO for a beyond-the-grave flashback scene.

But the big shocker? As if McNulty wasn't enough? Stringer Bell is BRITISH. Luckily, he is suitably ashamed:

Fans of the show may be surprised to learn that Mr. Elba is not African American. The only child of a mother from Ghana and father from Sierre Leone, Mr. Elba was born and brought up in Hackney, a working-class borough of London. It is a fact he reluctantly shares with fans, preferring instead to use his American accent when talking with those who request autographs. "Wherever I go the real hard-core dudes come up to me and confide in me," said Mr. Elba, who over the years has been approached by dozens of drug dealers identifying with Stringer. "I almost feel guilty turning around and saying: 'Hello, mate. My name's Idris and I'm from London.' " Mr. Elba burst into an exaggerated version of his cockney accent. "I don't want to break the illusion."

Keepin' it fake for the young thugs. Too adorable.