Jimmy McNulty

Detective James "Jimmy" McNulty is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by British actor Dominic West. McNulty is an Irish American detective in the Baltimore Police Department. While he has proven to be a canny and tenacious detective, he is disliked by several of his superiors because of his disdain for authority and tendency to circumvent the chain of command to set up investigations. When off the job, he has frequent proble... more

Detective James "Jimmy" McNulty is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by British actor Dominic West. McNulty is an Irish American detective in the Baltimore Police Department. While he has proven to be a canny and tenacious detective, he is disliked by several of his superiors because of his disdain for authority and tendency to circumvent the chain of command to set up investigations. When off the job, he has frequent problems involving alimony, alcoholism, child support, relationships, and money. McNulty nevertheless manages to play the role as one of the more competent officers in several of the largest drug-related arrests that take place within Baltimore. McNulty grew up in the Lauraville neighborhood of Baltimore. His father worked for Bethlehem Steel before being laid off. McNulty joined the police department after a year of college at Loyola College in Maryland in Baltimore as a means of supporting his pregnant girlfriend Elena, whom he later married. His... less