Bunk Moreland
William Moreland | |
---|---|
Homicide unit detective | |
Spouse | Nadine |
Children | Three (two sons, one daughter) |
William "Bunk" Moreland is a fictional character in
Casting
According to series creator David Simon, Pierce was cast immediately after completing his audition for the part. In Jonathan Abrams' book All the Pieces Matter, about the process of making The Wire, Simon described Pierce's state of mind at the audition: "He was really pissed off. He had gotten in an argument with a cab driver. It was one of those sort of trying-to-hail-a-cab-while-black moments in New York, and he came in and he was steaming."[4]
Although he tried to apologize for being upset, the casting staff felt his attitude was perfect for a stressed-out Baltimore homicide detective.[4] Pierce was not aware of the rationale until much later. He described feeling somewhat indignant upon learning about it, but told Abrams, "The fact that I would bring it up in the middle of a major audition shows some gumption on my part."[4]
Lance Reddick, who was later cast as Cedric Daniels, was originally called in to audition for Moreland.[5]
Character storyline
Bunk attended
Season 1
Bunk serves as
When Omar is at the police station, Bunk discovers they attended the same high school, beginning an ongoing association between the two. At Sergeant Jay Landsman's insistence, Bunk and McNulty review the Deirdre Kresson murder, which ultimately turns out to be related to the Barksdales and is solved as part of the final arrests of D'Angelo and Wee-Bey Brice.
Season 2
With McNulty having been bumped out to the Marine Unit, Bunk is partnered with
The crew feign ignorance of the English language, and the detectives let the ship go after learning that two crewmen jumped ship after Baltimore. Based on a few sparse facts, Bunk and Freamon deduce that the women were
While working the port case, Bunk worries about the William Gant murder;
Season 3
When the city deals with five homicides in one night, Bunk must leave his son with McNulty at an
Bunk meets with Omar and confronts him about the "innocent" victim. Omar informs Bunk that she was part of his crew and says he would never kill an innocent person. In response to Omar's statement that no one will talk to Bunk about the murder, and Tosha died in the game, Bunk makes Omar feel guilty about his negative influence on the world due to the collapse of West Baltimore. Bunk says that predators like Omar are all that still exist in their old neighborhood, which was once a community despite its hardships. To assuage this guilt, Omar finds Dozerman's gun and returns it to Bunk.
Later, Bunk is one of the investigators of Stringer Bell's murder.[6] Bunk realizes Omar was the shooter but does not close the case. Afterward, he tells McNulty that the city's homicide rate will probably reach 300 by New Year's, noticing how McNulty has slowed down on his consumption of alcohol.
Season 4
Bunk investigates the murder of Fruit, one of Marlo Stanfield's drug dealers. He is unable to find his main suspect, Curtis "Lex" Anderson. It becomes clear that Lex was murdered, but his body is not found and no leads are forthcoming.
At the same time, Bunk is surprised at McNulty's seemingly successful attempts to get his life back on track. Omar contacts Bunk after Chris Partlow frames Omar for killing an innocent woman in a convenience store robbery. Bunk initially ignores him, but Omar appeals to his sense of honor. Bunk tracks down new evidence proving the witness in Omar's case, Old Face Andre, lied, leading to Omar's release. In exchange, Bunk extracts a promise from Omar to never kill again.
In the process, Bunk also manages to make an enemy out of Crutchfield, the detective assigned to the Andre case. Freamon transfers back to Homicide and is partnered with Bunk again. Freamon manages to find Lex's body and, in the process, more than 20 other bodies, all of which are linked to Stanfield after Bunk gets key testimony from Lex's mother.
Season 5
Bunk and his colleagues in Homicide deal with budget cutbacks, including no
Bunk refocuses his attention on the Stanfield murders and delivers a report to Landsman that is placed immediately into a desk drawer. Landsman points out that Bunk is simply changing the date while submitting essentially the same report. Bunk angrily asserts that he is forced to repeat his requests as he is still waiting for the crime lab to process evidence. Bunk finally gets a DNA match on Partlow for the unrelated murder of Michael Lee's stepfather, but agrees to delay his case in order to allow the Stanfield wiretap to continue. He is last seen investigating a homicide with Greggs, engaging in jovial conversation similar to that he used to share with McNulty.
References
- ISBN 0-8050-8075-9.
Rick 'The Bunk' Requer left to man the department's retirement services bureau, though his homicide incarnation lives on in Wendell Pierce's portrayal of the legendary Bunk Moreland on The Wire, right down to the ubiquitous cigar.
- ^ "Wendell Pierce AKA Bunk From 'The Wire' Was Arrested Assault". Complex.
- ^ "Smacketology Day Five". Grantland.
- ^ OCLC 1008768023.
- ^ Abrams 2018, p. 20.
- ^ "Org Chart - The Law". HBO. 2004. Retrieved 2006-07-22.
- The Wire. Season 5. Episode 1. HBO.
- ^ "The Wire episode guide - episode 51 More with Less". HBO. 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
- The Wire. Season 5. Episode 2. HBO.
- ^ "The Wire episode guide - episode 52 Uncomfirmed Reports". HBO. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
- The Wire. Season 5. Episode 3. HBO.
- ^ "The Wire episode guide - episode 53 Not for Attribution". HBO. 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-22.