The Wire cast celebrates 23 years; they share how live rats would surprise them on set |

Tray Chaney, Anwan “Big G” Glover, Hassan Johnson, and J.D. Williams of The Wire recall surprise guests they encountered on the set.The four stars appeared on a special episode of The Breakfast Club on Friday, May 16, to commemorate the series’ 23rd anniversary. When asked what it was like to film in Baltimore, they described it as a fun experience.However, Chaney, 43, interjected to alert his former costars of the rats they would encounter. “The rats would come out for lunch,” he continued, before Glover, 54, interjected to recount a memorable episode. Chaney played Poot, while Glover played Slim Charles in the series. “We were shooting a scene at night; it was maybe five or more below, and we took a break. It was me, Felicia [Pearson], and a few other folks who ordered pizza. Bro, they had around ten pizzas on the thing. “And then a rat this big jumped up on the table and knocked the pizza down,” he explained, keeping his hands about a foot apart to demonstrate.“Then they just came,” he remarked, motioning to the table, where many rats flooded in.“They really came for the pizza,” Johnson, 48, who played Roland “Wee-Bey” Brice, queried. Glover comforted him, “Am I lying?” They jumped and knocked all the boxes off, and then everyone just jumped.” Johnson then mentioned that during a sequence with Michael K. Williams that made it into the episode, viewers can see a rat racing in the frame. “I got scared to death,” he admitted.Glover then repeated, “[The rats] be more looking like this,” raising his hands up about a foot apart. “Like dogs.” Not puppies. Dogs.” During the Friday, May 16 interview, the group also discussed the series’ legacy. The HBO series, which aired for five seasons, is considered one of the most critically acclaimed shows. It followed the institutions that revolve around Baltimore’s crime scene, including the media, police personnel, and criminals themselves. It aired from 2002 until 2008.“It’s crazy to me,” Johnson said of the 23 years since the show’s debut. “I constantly repeat when I’m questioned – I don’t care what anyone says — we had no idea what we were doing. “We were shooting that motherf—er.” However, J.D., 46, joined in to say he noticed they had “something special.”“When we arrived here, that made us, and I watched that work being done. I knew it. “I knew it,” he stated.Chaney also mentioned that The Wire was his first work as an actor. “So that was my first time I ever auditioned for a role,” he told me. “I recall asking J.D. a lot of questions, such as, ‘Bro, what is a caravan?’ “What are you telling me to do?”“But you know, like I said, dude, to be here 23 years later and still just getting to it,” he continued, before J.D. interjected, “I’m pleased people find it new every day. Every day, someone finds the show.“The show is more popular now, something years later, than it was when it was on TV,” Johnson informed. He went on to say that he had no idea it would become the “cultural staple” it is today. However, J.D. stated that he “definitely” understood its significance at the time of its release.