Idris Elba had reservations about Stringer Bell's fate on “The Wire”: 'I was a little bit against some of that'

That said, the actor agrees that it was ultimately an "important move" for the show's writers to make.

But when he first got word of his departure from the show, the actor admits he was less than thrilled.

"I had reservations about how Stringer was dying," the British star explained during a recent visit to Amy Poehler's Good Hang podcast. "There was various ways that [series creator] David Simon wanted to depict that, and I was a little bit against some of that. But the actual beheading of Stringer was an important move, you know? Just to illustrate to the world that, 'Hey, man, take the blinkers off.'"

Stringer —a savvy, smooth-talking criminal — was a major player in the drug war at the center of The Wire. Prior to his death, he was making a concerted effort to legitimize his drug business. But after being sold out by his partner Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris) in the season 3 finale, Stringer was ultimately killed at a construction site by Omar (Michael K. Williams) and Brother Mouzone (Michael Potts). 

But, as Elba pointed out, things went a lot differently for the real-life person that his character was based on.

"Stringer is a real person who is still alive," Elba said, "And 'Stringer' went on to become a very successful businessman who will remain anonymous forever but successfully built a lot of businesses and, you know, crawled out of the hole."

He continued, "In dramatic terms, on The Wire, it wouldn't have made sense for Stringer to get out. Although in reality, 'Stringer' did get out. But that's not dramatic enough, you know? That's not the story."

Elba previously detailed his frustrations with Stringer's original death scene in 2019, telling The Hollywood Reporter that the original script went much further than having Omar simply shoot Stringer to death.

"He then whips his dick out and pisses on him," recalled the actor. "I was pissed."

Elba made sure to voice his outrage to Simon: "I told him it was absolute tragedy, that it was sensational, and that it wasn’t going to happen."

Simon and producer George Pelecanos, who penned the episode, eventually relented and removed that detail from the script. 

That disagreement aside, Elba now speaks highly of his final scene, and the writing behind it.  

He told Poehler that killing Stringer offered a poetic ending for "the character that is offering a slightly different perspective on this chaotic town, chaotic situation for the people of Baltimore, but also [for] the towns across America."

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The Wire spanned five seasons between 2002 and 2008 and was widely praised by critics and viewers alike. Along with Harris, Williams, and Potts, the Baltimore-set drama saw Elba star alongside Dominic West, Lance Reddick, John Doman, Frankie R. Faison, Wendell Pierce, and more. Though the show never picked up any Emmys (and only received two nominations during its run), The Wire is now regarded alongside Breaking Bad and The Sopranos as one of TV's most significant dramas.