Having been a part of the show since season one, what was it like when the final season wrapped and how do you feel now that the filming of the show is complete?
Well, it was kind of bittersweet. You reach a point where you know you've got to move on and do some other things and that's okay, you kind of prepare yourself for that. I mean, you're never, ever really prepared for it unless you just hate what you're doing. But the show has been so great and the people on the show - from the actors to the people who put the show together, it was just such a joy working with them that I began to realize that I was in a very, very unique place and experience in my life that may or may not happen again.

I hope it does, but if it doesn't, I was kind of relieved to know I was a part of it and that made me feel very, very good and that to me is the most important thing, that I can walk away from this show and say I was part of something really, really good and I had that opportunity that a lot of actors, no matter who they are, never get an opportunity to be on a show like that, that is so well received and respected. It may not be the most popular show on television, but that's a story for a different day. But to just be a part of it made me feel really, really good.

Also, by the fact that you knew that it was going to be the final 10 episodes, that there would be no more, you had that sort of long 20-week period to come in contact with people and say goodbye and let them know that you really appreciated working with them. So it wasn't like the show just came to an abrupt halt and then you wish you had told people how much you respected them and their work. I had a chance to do all of that. Some people, I may never, ever work with again, but I had a great time.

One thing you are known for is your trademark delivery of the word "shit." Where does "sheeeeeit" come from?
It's one of those things, I had an uncle who passed away, God bless his soul, but he used to do that a lot, my uncle Leon. It was the way he did it and it was when he did it that would always make you laugh. But he would sometimes end sentences and sometimes, you know, you'd wake up and you'd say, "Hey, Uncle Leon, how did you sleep?"

He's go, "Sheeeeeit, man, I hit that pillow and ..."

Or, you'd say, "How is dinner?"

"Sheeeeeit, that food was good."

So he would always sort of talk like that. And so, the first time I did it, I think was in Spike Lee's film The 25th Hour. I did it there and I did it in She Hate Me. But then, when I got on to The Wire, I saw a couple of opportunities where I could do it, and I did. And they started writing it in, so I would pick my spots and lay one out there. But I think I might let it go with The Wire. I don't know though, you might hear it every now and then though.

You know, I was in, I think, Grand Central Station and far away I heard someone say it and they'd be kind of smiling. I'm glad people enjoy it. There could be worse things, I guess. But I hear rappers trying to do it and I've heard other people in other projects try to do it, but everybody knows if you really want to do it right, you're just going to have to bring the real guy in.

You are going to have to trademark it.
I thought about it, but then I thought, "Oh Jesus, what am I doing?"

Outside of people shouting at you from across Grand Central Station, what type of response have you gotten from fans? Do you get a lot of people approaching you in public?
I don't get a ton of people, but the people who like the show really, really like the show. And I get stopped every now and then. I try to be as cordial as possible. But they just don't like Clay Davis, but they don't quite know what to do about him. It's almost like they hate him so much that they love the character because they can't quite figure out where he's coming from half the time, which is good. I'm glad that they're so irked by the character - who he is and what he does - because that's exactly what should be going on.

Have you had any response from politicians?
Politicians, no. But I have run into a couple of people in Washington, which only makes me know that they're watching. People from DC say that I remind them of someone. God help us, whoever that is. But it's interesting because there's certain people that I would study and there's a few politicians who if you really look at some of the things they've done, they sort of sound a little bit like Clay Davis.

Is Clay Davis based on a particular person?
Not really. They told me that he's not like a particular person. Now, that being said, if you want to take maybe four or five people that they based the character on, some not even politicians. But just that certain things would happen to certain people that you can put with Clay Davis to round out his character. And then you take all of the people that I've studied and I take a little bit here and a little bit there and then you end up with a character like that.

What do you do to unwind? What kind of hobbies do you have?
I always want to say like horseback riding, fly fishing, stuff like that. My shit's always really lame, like sitting around watching baseball games. I love baseball. That's a real good hobby that I have. And I collect wine, which is a really nice hobby because I get to drink it. And I tool around on saxophone every now and then, but that's about it.

Are you good on the saxophone?
Nah. I can play like a certain note, like a G or a C in a long tone and I hope everybody else kind of joins in and picks up from there.

What would you be doing for a living if you never got into acting?
I always wanted to be like an announcer at baseball games or things like that. I wanted to be that before I wanted to be an actor. And some days I dream about doing that. That was always like a childhood dream of mine that I never let materialize.

Tell us something most people don't know about you.
Man, you've got some tough questions. The stuff that people don't know about me, there's a reason why they don't know it about me. (Laughs.) I'm a Notre Dame fan. I know that will piss a lot of people off.

Interviewed by Joel Murphy, January 2008. Starting on February 7, Isiah Whitlock Jr. can be seen on stage in Brett C. Leonard's play Unconditional at the Public Theater's LuEsther Hall in New York City. For ticket information, visit the LAByrinth Theater Company's website. The fifth and final season of The Wire airs Sunday nights on HBO.