ED BURNS SPEAKS SOME OF THE REALEST TALK YOU'VE HEARD IN YOUR LIFE. AND AS WRITER, PRODUCER, AND INSPIRATION FOR HBO'S THE WIRE, IT'S HIS CANDOR AND CONNECTIONS THAT MAKE THE SPRAWLING BALTIMORE CRIME SAGA NUMBER ONE WITH A BULLET. NOW, AT THE DAWN OF THE SHOW'S FINAL SEASON, COMPLEX LOOKS AT THE MAN WHO BRINGS THE RAW UNCUT.

By Justin Monroe; Illustration by Sean Mccabe He's not the only one from Burns's past who got involved: Donnie, Nathan "Bodie" Barksdale, and close to 40 other onetime street players all made sure in their own way that the show rings true. Yet, none of them would have been involved in the first place were it not for their respect for Burns as a man. "I hold him in esteem," says Melvin of the man who attempted to lock him up for life (Burns wanted to charge him on a larger conspiracy case). "Today I consider Ed-and you will probably not hear me say this a lot of times-to be a friend. Had he been anything other than a cop doing his job, I wouldn't have even considered having a conversation with him; I had never spoken to a cop previously in my life."

The authenticity Burns and his connects lent became all the more important in the show's fifth and final season, which debuts in January. Donnie, Melvin, and more recent players like Felicia Pearson (a convicted murderer who played the androgynous assassin Snoop) helped the show's all-star ensemble of middle-aged white writers (including novelists Richard Price and George Pelecanos) to their feet when, on occasion, they tripped penning believable black vernacular. "Last year," Donnie says, "they were havin' the actors almost sounding white"-I had to step in!" Unlike on many other shows, Melvin insists that their criticisms were not taken lightly. "It would change, and it sounded real," he says of revisions that the locals suggested. "And that's what's important."

For the professional actors without street resumés, the real players are an invaluable resource. Jamie Hector, who played sociopathic drug dealer Marlo Stanfield, sat extensively with Melvin, learning about his legendary ability to read people and situations, as well as the specifics of his years in the game. "He'd talk to me about things that I can't talk about," laughs Hector.

Andre Royo, who played Bubbles, the junkie snitch-sorry, "confidential informant"-was initially unaware that his part was inspired by one of Burns's real-life C.I.'s. Though Burns didn't want to distract Royo with details about the real Bubs, he did put the actor in touch with Fran Andrews (née Boyd), a former drug addict-turned-counselor whom Burns and David Simon had written about in their book The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood. Fran took Royo into the community to put a personal face on addiction. "I wanted him to get it right," says Fran, who did voice-over work on the show and is married to Donnie (whom she met through Burns while Donnie was in prison). "Even though he's portraying drug addicts, they're people—and if it was me, I wouldn't want him portraying me as something that I wasn't." For his part, Royo listened intently to Fran and other addicts, steering clear of fast-talking, heavy-scratching junkie clichés. In fact, he made sure Fran was on set whenever he shot during the first two seasons. But in the end, Burns, the man who'd seen it all, was always there as his ultimate barometer. "When we used to do a scene, the director would come to you, giving notes on what played for the camera," says Royo. "But you look at Ed like, 'Is it truthful? Is it real?' And he'd give you a nod."

The real players didn't play to the camera so much as they let it capture true life. "These guys bring a reality, a face, that gives some starch to the show, stiffens it up so it gives that real, street-type feel," says Burns of his assembled cast of former street players. "When Donnie holds a gun, you know it's not the first time he's ever held a gun." In April 2005, when Donnie was released from jail after 17 and a half years, he joined the cast, playing alongside Michael K. Williams as muscle sent to help protect Omar during a stay in county lockup.

Ultimately, Burns's gift is in producing moments that are the show. It's the kernels of realness—the mannerisms a character might have, a word choice in a conversation—that reveal his influence, his fluency. During a prison scene last season in which Omar shanks a would-be assassin, Michael K. Williams witnessed a moment that not even the most highly trained thespian could produce. As he walked off-camera, the actor turned back to survey the scene, and what he saw chilled his bones: Drawing upon his years inside, Donnie stood amid the chaos grinning, eyes wild, picking his nails with a knife. This, Michael thought, is a man not to be fucked with. "I almost turned to salt," he says, "like in the Bible." When it's real enough to fool an actor, you know it's the truth.



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