Grad lands spot on HBO’s “The Wire”

Pitt graduate Nathan James is a devout fan of HBO’s show “The Wire.” His devotion paid off… Pitt graduate Nathan James is a devout fan of HBO’s show “The Wire.” His devotion paid off when, without an agent, he scored a supporting role on the popular drama.

After seeing an acquaintance appear on the show, James decided he had nothing to lose by attempting to contact the show’s producers. He began by pestering an associate of the casting director – making phone call after phone call, requesting just one audition.

“And I started to flood their inbox with e-mails,” James said.

After about two months, he finally got a call. James had plans to fly to Jamaica the next day, but the producers wanted him to be in Baltimore, where the show is filmed, to audition in 24 hours.

So, James canceled his trip and drove the four and a half hours to Baltimore.

“You have to be persistent in this business or get out of it,” said James, who graduated from Pitt in 2004.

He landed the role of Officer Lloyd “Truck” Carrick after four auditions and appeared in “The Wire’s” 54th episode, which aired on Jan. 27. The episode was filmed in May 2007.

The show, which is both filmed and set in Baltimore, illuminates several of the city’s sectors – including the police force, the street, the newspaper and the government.

“The main premise of the show is how the politics of the streets are no different from the politics of the actual government,” James said. “The only difference is one is legal and the other is not.”

The episode that James was in was the highest ranked in the show’s history. For its premier, his mother organized a family gathering and passed out fliers to alert neighbors of James’ appearance.

Though his scenes in a later episode were cut, James was happy that he got several close-ups, his lines were aired and he appeared in the episode’s trailer.

“It really was a blessing just to be in the commercial,” James said, who found it “surreal” to be among the cast that he had been following throughout the show’s four previous seasons.

And James admits to being a bit star-struck at times.

“It was amazing to see that nobody is really like their character,” he said. While filming he had meals and exchanged phone numbers with some of the cast members who expressed interest in working with him in the future.

James’ biggest project is Learning 2 Unlearn Entertainment, which he created in 2005 under the motto of “liberating minds one syllable at a time.”

The group is based loosely around James’ first passion – spoken word poetry.

“I was tired of performing other people’s work,” said James, who has been acting since he was 12 years old. “I wanted to have a say in the art I want to get out there.”

James always had a passion for poetry, but it wasn’t until he came to Pitt that he realized it could be his career. With the help of Vernell Lillie, the chair of Pitt’s Africana Studies Department and the founder of Kuntu Repertory Theater, James became very involved in both theatre and poetry.

While at Pitt, James majored in Africana Studies and theatre. He was the president of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity and the National Pan-Hellenic Council. James continues to keep in touch with Lillie, who remains an influence in what he sees as his mission to propagate empowerment through art.

Through Learning 2 Unlearn, James hosts slam poetry competitions and performs his own poetry while touring the country. He has also organized the Sea to Shining Sea program, which donates supplies to schools in the Caribbean and Africa.

Touring gives James a chance to teach young people the art of poetry. He conducts workshops that focus on issues like curing writer’s block or taking significant life experiences and turning them into written works. “The program is a part of my goal to give something back,” James said.

He was born and raised in Pittsburgh and feels a strong tie to the community.

“When I was 15, I didn’t think I would live to be 21,” James said. “It took me a long time to get out of that mentality.”

But through his poetry and acting, James hopes that he can teach and inspire young people that may have the same mindset.

After countless solo and group performances, James has released a CD, written a book that he is attempting to publish and also written his own play, “Growing Pains.” He has also appeared in an independent film, “Pain Within,” which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

In addition, he was ranked one of the nation’s top 15 poets by Poetry Slam Incorporated in 2005.

And he does it all as his own agent.

“If I can pay my rent and change minds one at a time, I’ll be happy,” James said. “I want to make my mark.”