With his towering frame, unconditional loyalty and voice of a thousand Newports™, Barksdale enforcer Slim Charles became a fan favorite on The Wire. Anwan “Big G” Glover, the Washington D.C. native who so capably portrayed the street soldier, is proud of his breakout role. But like Slim inheriting Marlo Stanfield’s coveted drug connect, Glover is ready to expand the franchise. Glover has long been involved in the music business as a member of the D.C. Go-Go group Backyard Band. Now that he’s making solo moves with Sony/BMG music producer and fellow-D.C. native Chink Santana, Glover landed a spot on a song called “Girlfriend” with Jim Jones and Juelz Santana. He’s also appeared in numerous music videos like many alumni of The Wire. In addition, Glover hosts a show every Saturday on D.C.’s #1 Hip-Hop/R&B radio station, WKYS 93.9.

Acting, however, remains one of Anwan Glover’s strongest passions. He’s starring alongside Sean “Diddy” Combs in a feature film called Shoe Dog, slated to hit the silver screen this fall. Although the gangster role is one Glover embraces and seems to be built for, the actor is vying for new types of casting. Aside from his entertainment endeavors, Glover also works with the non-profit organization Peaceoholics to provide D.C. youth with constructive alternatives to drugs and crime. After his own brother was gunned down in the streets of Columbia Heights in 2007, Glover addressed the press along with D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, stating, “We’re tired of seeing the yellow (police) tape” and called for an end to revenge shootings.

Anwan Glover sat down and chopped it up with The Crew’s Khalid Strickland, who couldn’t stop calling the actor Slim Charles. Glover laughed it off discussed his new projects, his humanitarian work and how he felt about The Wire never winning an Emmy award, among other things.

15-anwan

TSS: Talk about Shoe Dog, the new film you’re in.

Anwan Glover: Shoe Dog, we’re going to shoot that. We were supposed to be shooting it in July but they pushed it back to August. It’s going to be in Toronto with Michael Delfay, Dominic West (who played McNulty on The Wire) and myself, Anwon Glover. I’m playing a character (named) Jackson. It’s gonna be a good film. It’s not like my character that I played on The Wire but it’s a gangster role, na’mean? A gangster with a smile and I’m real manipulative, I just bait people into doing what I need them to do just for my purposes, na’mean? It’s gonna be a good piece for me just coming out from getting off of The Wire and moving on. Just being a young African-American actor out here in the struggle. Just trying to put my face out here for these different roles because they you’re so much getting typecast a lot. Coming off the best television show, The Wire, I get typecast a lot. I go read for a lot of those different gangster roles but I’m really trying to break out of that. You do what you got to do to get the bills paid.

TSS: Speaking of which, what’s good with the music? You’ve got something poppin’ off with Juelz Santana, Jim Jones and Chink Santana.

Anwan Glover: Yeah, it’s called “Girlfriend.” We just left satellite radio with Angela Yee. I was on her show before, on Lip Service. She got the morning show, it’s hot; we just played it on there. I got a lil’ sixteen on there, I’m killin’ it. It’s called “Girlfriend” and it’s gonna be on Jim Jones’s album. I’m trying to work out a deal and get signed with Sony, so we got stuff on the table. I’m doing magazine ads, just tryin’ to jump out there. I also got a good look on this piece (a new series) for HBO. It’s supposed to be like five or six episodes they’re writing me in for, so you can look out for Anwan on that should be like sometime in the fall. So I’m just hustlin’ right now, man. Read the rest of this entry »