3. Getting played by Clay Davis

The Wire did an excellent job of lathering String with intelligence markers. He was tall, handsome, mild-mannered, and articulate. He dressed like a Bachrach mannequin and took community college courses. He instituted Robert’s Rules of Order and said things like “yo’ and “motherfucker” with rigor. But, as Bomani Jones articulated in a thread about him last week, this was merely the sort of “smart” presentation that fools people. We see someone who possesses that, and we presume a savvy that ain’t always there.

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In Stringer’s case, this presentation shielded the reality that he was actually a simpleton. Perhaps even dumb.

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I can’t think of another television character who embodied “I wouldn’t trust him as far as I can spit” better than Clay Davis did. Everything about him—his clothes, his demeanor, his words, his smile—screamed “This nigga’s a con!” Of course, confidence men are who they are because they’re gifted at grift and shameless with it, but anyone as street- and book- smart as String was supposed to be would’ve sniffed that shit out. Instead, he was played —for years!—by a man my four-year-old daughter wouldn’t trust to blow a bubble.

In summary, The Wire’s depiction of him was smart—as was Idris Elba’s performance. But Stringer Bell was dumb as rocks.

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(Updated 3/3/22 with new details)