The following is a listing of fictional characters from the HBO series, The Wire. Note that some characters' allegiances or positions may have changed over time; and, although the series has ended, the placement below is generally meant to reflect their most recent situation. Also, some specific plot lines may be revealed in a character's description.

Actor	Character	Seasons					Episode count
		1	2	3	4	5
Dominic West	Jimmy McNulty	Main					56
John Doman	William Rawls	Main					46
Idris Elba	Russell "Stringer" Bell	Main					36
Frankie R. Faison	Ervin Burrell	Main				Recurring	40
Lawrence Gilliard Jr.	D'Angelo Barksdale	Main					18
Wood Harris	Avon Barksdale	Main				Guest	32
Deirdre Lovejoy	Rhonda Pearlman	Main					44
Wendell Pierce	William "The Bunk" Moreland	Main					54
Lance Reddick	Cedric Daniels	Main					58
Andre Royo	Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins	Main					40
Sonja Sohn	Kima Greggs	Main					56
Chris Bauer	Frank Sobotka		Main				12
Paul Ben-Victor	Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos		Main		Guest	Recurring	15
Clarke Peters	Lester Freamon	Recurring	Main				54
Amy Ryan	Beatrice "Beadie" Russell		Main	Guest	Recurring		20
Aidan Gillen	Tommy Carcetti			Main			35
Jim True-Frost	Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski	Recurring		Main		Guest	45
Robert Wisdom	Howard "Bunny" Colvin		Guest	Main		Guest	25
Seth Gilliam	Ellis Carver	Recurring		Main			50
Domenick Lombardozzi	Thomas "Herc" Hauk	Recurring		Main			53
J. D. Williams	Preston "Bodie" Broadus	Recurring		Main			37
Michael K. Williams	Omar Little	Recurring		Main			42
Corey Parker Robinson	Leander Sydnor	Recurring		Main			38
Reg E. Cathey	Norman Wilson				Main		23
Chad Coleman	Dennis "Cutty" Wise			Recurring	Main	Guest	20
Jamie Hector	Marlo Stanfield			Recurring	Main		32
Glynn Turman	Clarence Royce			Recurring	Main	Guest	16
Clark Johnson	Augustus Haynes					Main	10
Tom McCarthy	Scott Templeton					Main	10
Gbenga Akinnagbe	Chris Partlow			Recurring		Main	26
Neal Huff	Michael Steintorf				Recurring	Main	11
Jermaine Crawford	Duquan "Dukie" Weems				Recurring	Main	20
Tristan Wilds	Michael Lee				Recurring	Main	22
Michael Kostroff	Maurice Levy	Recurring			Guest	Main	21
Michelle Paress	Alma Gutierrez					Main	10
Isiah Whitlock, Jr.	Clay Davis	Recurring				Main	22

Actor	Character	Seasons					Episode count
		1	2	3	4	5
Delaney Williams	Jay Landsman	Recurring					45
Robert F. Chew	Joseph "Proposition Joe" Stewart	Recurring					24
Maria Broom	Marla Daniels	Recurring					16
Tray Chaney	Malik "Poot" Carr	Recurring				Guest	26
Melanie Nicholls-King	Cheryl	Recurring			Guest		15
Callie Thorne	Elena McNulty	Recurring			Guest		12
Michael Hyatt	Brianna Barksdale	Recurring			Guest		12
Doug Olear	Terrance "Fitz" Fitzhugh	Recurring				Recurring	13
Leo Fitzpatrick	Johnny Weeks	Recurring					15
Shamyl Brown	Donette	Recurring					12
Hassan Johnson	Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice	Recurring		Guest	Recurring	Guest	20
Susan Rome	Ilene Nathan	Recurring		Guest	Recurring		7
Erik Todd Dellums	Dr. Randall Frazier	Recurring		Guest			6
Nat Benchley	Augustus Polk	Recurring				Guest	8
Robert F. Colesberry	Ray Cole	Recurring					8
Michael Salconi	Michael Santangelo	Recurring	Guest	Recurring			25
Ed Norris	Ed Norris	Recurring	Guest	Recurring			22
Brian Anthony Wilson	Vernon Holley	Recurring	Guest	Recurring			19
Antonio Cordova	Michael McNulty	Recurring	Guest	Recurring	Guest		10
Eric Gershowitz	Sean James McNulty	Recurring	Guest	Recurring	Guest		10
Peter Gerety	Daniel Phelan	Recurring	Guest	Recurring		Recurring	15
Wendy Grantham	Shardene Innes	Recurring	Guest			Guest	11
Richard DeAngelis	Raymond Foerster	Recurring		Recurring	Guest		15
Tony D. Head	Bobby Reed	Recurring		Recurring	Guest		10
Bobby J. Brown	Robert "Bobby" Brown	Recurring		Guest	Recurring		12
Steve Earle	Walon	Recurring			Guest	Recurring	8
Chris Clanton	Savino Bratton	Recurring				Recurring	8
Michael B. Jordan	Wallace	Recurring					13
Clayton LeBouef	Wendell "Orlando" Blocker	Recurring					8
Brandon Price	Anton "Stinkum" Artis	Recurring					8
Michael Kevin Darnall	Brandon Wright	Recurring					4
Al Brown	Stanislaus "Stan" Valchek	Guest	Recurring				19
Michael Willis	Andy Krawczyk		Recurring				15
Method Man	Melvin "Cheese" Wagstaff		Recurring				13
S. Robert Morgan	Butchie		Recurring			Guest	10
Kelli R. Brown	Kimmy		Recurring				11
Richard Burton	Shaun "Shamrock" McGinty		Recurring				20
Michael Potts	Brother Mouzone		Recurring				7
DeAndre McCullough	Lamar		Recurring				6
Edwina Findley	Tosha Mitchell		Recurring				4
Benay Berger	Amanda Reese	Guest	Recurring	Guest		Recurring	8
Bill Raymond	The Greek		Recurring			Recurring	10
Pablo Schreiber	Nick Sobotka		Recurring			Guest	13
Jeffrey Pratt Gordon	Johnny "Fifty" Spamanto		Recurring			Guest	13
Luray Cooper	Nat Coxson		Recurring			Guest	12
Chris Ashworth	Sergei Malatov		Recurring			Guest	11
Richard Pelzman	Little Big Roy		Recurring			Guest	7
Gary "D.Reign"	Frog		Recurring			Guest	4
James Ransone	Ziggy Sobotka		Recurring				12
Charley Scalies	Thomas "Horseface" Pakusa		Recurring				12
Bus Howard	Vernon "Ott" Motley		Recurring				8
Jeffrey Fugitt	Claude Diggins		Recurring				7
Jill Redding	Delores		Recurring				7
Kristin Proctor	Aimee		Recurring				6
Kelvin Davis	La La		Recurring				6
Teddy Cañez	George "Double G" Glekas		Recurring				5
Lance Irwin	Maui		Recurring				5
Lev Gorn	Eton Ben-Eleazer		Recurring				5
Robert Hogan	Louis Sobotka		Recurring				4
Brook Yeaton	"White" Mike McArdle		Recurring				4
Tom Mardirosian	Kristos Koutris		Recurring				3
Jay Landsman	Dennis Mello		Guest	Recurring			18
Anwan Glover	Slim Charles			Recurring			27
Felicia Pearson	Felicia "Snoop" Pearson			Recurring			26
Ryan Sands	Lloyd "Truck" Garrick			Recurring			20
Benjamin Busch	Anthony Colicchio			Recurring			20
Gregory L. Williams	Michael Crutchfield			Recurring			19
Edward Green	Spider			Recurring			17
Frederick Strother	Odell Watkins			Recurring			15
Rick Otto	Kenneth Dozerman			Recurring			14
Megan Anderson	Jen Carcetti			Recurring			13
Troj Marquis Strickland	Fat Face Rick			Recurring			9
Melvin Williams	The Deacon			Recurring		Guest	11
Cleo Reginald Pizana	Coleman Parker			Recurring			15
Brandy Burre	Theresa D'Agostino			Recurring			15
Christopher Mann	Anthony "Tony" Gray			Recurring			12
Dravon James	Mrs. Grace Sampson			Recurring			12
Joilet F. Harris	Caroline Massey			Recurring			10
Justin Burley	Justin			Recurring			10
Brandon Fobbs	Fruit			Recurring	Guest		8
Norris Davis	Vinson			Recurring		Recurring	7
Ernest Waddell	Dante		Guest	Recurring			9
Leonard A. Anderson	Gerard			Recurring			7
Brandan T. Tate	Sapper			Recurring			6
Melvin Jackson, Jr.	Bernard			Recurring			4
Mia Arnice Chambers	Squeak			Recurring			4
Gary D'Addario	Gary DiPasquale		Guest		Recurring		5
Thuliso Dingwall	Kenard			Guest	Recurring		19
Kwame Patterson	Monk Metcalf				Recurring		17
Marlyne Afflack	Nerese Campbell				Recurring		11
Keenon Brice	Aaron "Bug" Manigault				Recurring		11
Dion Graham	Rupert Bond				Recurring		8
Darrell Britt-Gibson	Darius "O-Dog" Hill				Recurring		8
Shamika Cotton	Raylene Lee				Recurring		8
Donnie Andrews	Donnie				Recurring		6
Derrick Purvey	Big Guy				Recurring		5
Maestro Harrell	Randy Wagstaff				Recurring	Guest	14
Julito McCullum	Namond Brice				Recurring	Guest	14
Tootsie Duvall	Marcia Donnelly				Recurring	Guest	12
Ramón Rodríguez	Renaldo				Recurring	Guest	8
Rashad Orange	Sherrod			Guest	Recurring		7
Dan DeLuca	Dr. David Parenti				Recurring		11
Nathan Corbett	Donut				Recurring		9
Sandi McCree	De'Londa Brice				Recurring		9
Taylor King	Zenobia Dawson				Recurring		9
Jonnie Louis Brown	Eddie Walker				Recurring		7
Stacie Davis	Miss Duquette				Recurring		6
Tyrell Baker	Little Kevin				Recurring		6
Boris McGiver	Charles Marimow				Recurring		6
Alfonso Christian Lover	Old Face Andre				Recurring		6
Richard Hildebird	Claudell Withers				Recurring		5
Gene Terinoni	Jimmy Asher				Recurring		3
Bill Zorzi	Bill Zorzi	Guest				Recurring	9
Michael Stone Forrest	Frank Barlow	Guest				Recurring	4
Todd Scofield	Jeff Price			Guest		Recurring	8
David Costabile	Thomas Klebanow					Recurring	9
Sam Freed	James Whiting					Recurring	9
Brandon Young	Mike Fletcher					Recurring	9
Donald Neal	Jay Spry					Recurring	7
Robert Poletick	Steven Luxenberg					Recurring	7
Thomas J. McCarthy	Tim Phelps					Recurring	7
Dennis Hill	Christeson					Recurring	5
Kara Quick	Rebecca Corbett					Recurring	5
Bruce Kirkpatrick	Roger Twigg					Recurring	4

Law enforcement is an integral part of The Wire and characters in this field range from those enforcing the law at street level to those setting laws citywide.

Those involved in drug dealing and drug addicts alike are featured. Thieves and sex workers are also featured.

Stevedores, their families, and the criminal organization that is involved in the smuggling through the Baltimore docks are featured.

Both honest and corrupt state and city officials depicted in the series are included in this section.

Pupils, staff and employees in the school system are featured.

The fifth season features an examination of a fictionalized version of The Baltimore Sun and introduced several journalist characters.

• Aimee
• Artis, Anton "Stinkum"
• Asher, Jimmy

• Bailey, John
• Baker, Brian
• Barksdale, Avon
• Barksdale, Brianna
• Barksdale, D'Angelo
• Barlow, Frank
• Ben-Eleazer, Eton
• Bernard
• Bell, Russell "Stringer"
• "Big Guy"
• "Big Roy"
• Blocker, Wendell "Orlando"
• Bond, Rupert
• Bratton, Savino
• Brice, De'Londa
• Brice, Namond
• Brice, Roland "Wee-Bey"
• Broadus, Preston "Bodie"
• Brown, Bobby
• Brother Mouzone
• "Bubbles"
• Burrell, Ervin
• Butchie

• Campbell, Nerese
• Cantrell, Walter
• Carcetti, Jen
• Carcetti, Thomas "Tommy"
• Carr, Malik "Poot"
• Carver, Ellis
• Castor, Aaron
• Cheryl
• "Chess"
• Christeson
• Cole, Ray
• Colicchio, Anthony
• Colvin, Howard "Bunny"
• Country
• Cousins, Reginald "Bubbles"
• Coxson, Nat
• Crutchfield, Michael

• D'Agostino, Theresa
• Daniels, Cedric
• Daniels, Marla
• Dante
• Davis, R. Clayton "Clay"
• Dawson, Zenobia
• The Deacon
• "Dee-Dee"
• Delores
• Demper, Steven
• DiBiago, Bruce
• DiPasquale, Gary
• Diggins, Claude
• Donette
• Donnie
• "Donut"
• Donnelly, Marcia
• Dozerman, Kenneth

• Fitzhugh, Terrance "Fitz"
• Fletcher, Mike
• Foerster, Raymond
• Frazier, Warren
• Frazier, Randall
• Freamon, Lester
• "Frog"
• "Fruit"

• Garrick, Lloyd "Truck"
• Gerard
• Gerry
• "Ghost"
• Glekas, George a.k.a. "Double G"
• Gray, Anthony
• "The Greek"
• Greggs, Shakima "Kima"
• Gutierrez, Alma

• Hauk, Thomas "Herc"
• Haynes, Augustus "Gus"
• Hendrix, Ricardo a.k.a. "Fat-Face Rick"
• Hilton, Marquis "Bird"
• Holley, Vernon
• "Hucklebuck"
• "Hungry Man"

• Innes, Shardene

• Jamal
• Judkins, Crystal
• Johnson, Herbert De'Rodd a.k.a. "Puddin"

• Kenard
• Kimmy
• Klebanow, Thomas
• Koutris, Kristos
• Krawczyk, Andy

Sylvester kirk

• "La La"
• Lamar
• Lambert
• Landsman, Jay
• Lee, Michael
• Lee, Raylene
• Levy, Maurice
• "Little Big Roy"
• "Little Kevin"
• "Little Man"
• Little, Omar
• Luxenberg, Steven

• Mahon, Patrick
• Malatov, Sergei
• Manigault, Aaron "Bug"
• Manigault, Devar
• Marimow, Charles
• Massey, Caroline
• "Maui"
• McArdle, "White" Mike
• McGinty, Shaun "Shamrock"
• McNulty, Elena
• McNulty, Jimmy
• McNulty, Michael
• McNulty, Sean
• Mello, Dennis
• Metcalf,"Monk"
• Mitchell, Tosha
• Moreland, Bunk
• Motley, Vernon "Ott"

• Nathan, Ilene
• Norris, Ed

• "O-Dog"
• Old Face Andre

• Pakusa, Thomas "Horseface"
• Parenti, David
• Parker, Coleman
• Partlow, Chris
• Pearlman, Rhonda
• Pearson, Felicia "Snoop"
• Perkins, Eunetta
• Perry
• Phelan, Daniel
• Phelps, Tim
• "Phil-Boy"
• Polk, Augustus
• Price, Damien Lavelle a.k.a. "Day Day"
• Price, Jeff
• Pryzbylewski, Roland "Prez"

• Rawls, William
• Reed, Bobby
• Renaldo
• Reese, Amanda
• Rico
• "Ronnie Mo"
• Royce, Clarence
• Russell, Beatrice "Beadie"

• Sampson, Grace
• Santangelo, Michael
• Sapper
• Sherrod
• "Slim Charles"
• Sobotka, Frank
• Sobotka, Joan
• Sobotka, Louis
• Sobotka, Nick
• Sobotka, Ziggy
• Spamanto, Johnny "Fifty"
• Spry, Jay
• "Squeak"
• Stanfield, Marlo
• Sterling
• Stewart, "Proposition" Joe
• Stokes, Albert
• Sydnor, Leander

• Tank
• Taylor, Marvin
• Templeton, Scott
• Tilghman, Dwight
• Torret
• Twigg, Roger
• Tyson, Darnell

• Valchek, Stanislaus
• Vinson
• Vondopoulos, Spiros "Vondas"

• Wagstaff, Calvin "Cheese"
• Wagstaff, Randy
• Wallace
• Walker, Eddie
• Walon
• Watkins, Odell
• Weeks, Johnny
• Weems, Duquan "Dukie"
• Whiting, James
• Williams, Karim
• Williamson, Kintel
• Wilson, Norman
• Wise, Dennis "Cutty"
• Withers, Claudell
• Wright, Brandon

• Zorzi, Bill