🎬The Wire Fans Got D’Angelo Wrong — Lawrence Gilliard Jr. On Wallace, Stringer & The Game

Lawrence Gilliard Jr., the legendary actor behind D’Angelo Barksdale, joins Wiretapped Truths for a powerful archive-level conversation about one of the most misunderstood characters in *The Wire*. D’Angelo was not just Avon’s nephew. He was the emotional doorway into the Barksdale world. He taught viewers the game through the chess scene, carried the guilt of Wallace, challenged Avon, confronted Stringer, and showed fans what it looked like when someone understood the game but no longer had the heart for it. In this interview, Lawrence opens up about his real Baltimore roots, playing football for the Lexington Terrace squad, how close his life was to the world The Wire captured, and the shocking full-circle moment when David Simon brought him an old article about the death of one of Lawrence’s childhood friends. He also clears up one of the biggest debates in Wire history: D’Angelo never snitched. He came to the edge, but he did the time. He chose the family. He wanted out of the game mentally, but the game still saw him as a threat. This conversation also touches on: 🔥 The chess scene becoming one of the most legendary scenes in TV history 🔥 Why D’Angelo was created by David Simon and not based on one real person 🔥 Wallace, Bodie, Stringer, Avon, and Brianna 🔥 Why Stringer moved the way he moved 🔥 The truth about D’Angelo’s death scene 🔥 Lawrence finding out he was being killed off 🔥 Michael K. Williams going from extra to Omar 🔥 The Wire: The Musical being Michael K. Williams’ idea 🔥 Raising Kanan mirroring D’Angelo’s death 🔥 The orange couch almost becoming Lawrence’s wrap gift 🔥 Lawrence’s memoir, Walk Up To The Lion Wiretapped Truths is approaching 200,000 views in under a year with 665+ videos, 35+ legendary cast and crew interviews, one of the largest collections of The Wire content online, and more historic conversations on the way. Was D’Angelo Barksdale a snitch, or was he one of the only people in the Barksdale crew who finally saw the game clearly? 🎭 Executive Producer: Ms. Dona Adrianne Gibson Costume Supervisor — The Wire Seasons 1–5 🙏🏾 WIRETAPPED TRUTHS SUPPORT SYSTEM Special blessings and appreciation to: 💄 Debi Young Department Head Makeup Artist — The Wire 🧩 Kurt Burke Founder of the All The Pieces Matter Facebook Group 🎬 Dan DeLuca Actor, Director & 3-Time Wiretapped Truths Guest 🎬 WATCH & FOLLOW THE CAST / WIRE UNIVERSE 📘 Lawrence Gilliard Jr. — Walk Up To The Lion Memoir Available on Amazon 🎙️ Dr. Dravon James https://drdravonjames.com/index.php/p... 🎭 Robert Wisdom — The Terminal List: Dark Wolf https://www.primevideo.com/detail/The... 🎬 Dan DeLuca — A Town Called Purgatory https://www.primevideo.com/detail/A-T... 🎙️ The Wire Stories https://www.tiktok.com/@thewirestorie... 🎭 Chris Ashworth   / therealashworth   🎙️ Kamaal Smith    / @drahcirtv   🎥 Maestro Harrell    / @maestroharrell   🎭 Nakia Dillard https://www.aikanacts.org 🎥 SMP RISE https://smprise.org #TheWire #DangeloBarksdale #LawrenceGilliardJr #WiretappedTruths #HBO #TheWireHBO #Barksdale #StringerBell #AvonBarksdale #Wallace #Baltimore #DavidSimon #RaisingKanan #PowerUniverse