It's ironic that on The Wire, a show focusing on the drug trade in Baltimore, one of the most evil characters is the lawyer who represents the street thugs. But Maury Levy, played brilliantly by Michael Kostroff, is a smarmy, unapologetic villain who fans love to hate. We recently talked to Kostroff about his character, the show and why fans won't let him pick out a tomato in peace.

Where are you originally from and where do you call home now?
I'm originally from New York City. I've been living in Las Angeles for 18 years, so naturally I call New York City home.

How did you get into acting? How old were you when you started and how did you decide this is what you wanted to do for a living?
I believe acting is a calling. Practically out of the womb I was making up shows, talking to imaginary characters or becoming characters. It's sort of been a lifelong thing. I can't remember a time where I didn't know I was going to be an actor.

It's always hard to answer the "big break" question because there wasn't one. It was sort of a series of little breaks followed by long periods of unemployment and at a certain point I looked around and I was making a living as an actor.

You have appeared in guest spots on a variety of television shows. What has it been like being a journeyman actor? Is it tough to constantly go onto new sets to play these parts or do you enjoy the variety in the work?
I think one of my favorite things about being an actor is the variety. Variety of roles, variety of settings, going from theatre to TV; it's really one of my favorite things. In fact, if I'm ever in a play where I can play like 10 or 12 roles as I did in The Producers, that's Heaven for me because I really like the diversity.

And, I've always had a very kind of blue collar philosophy about my acting career. I love the whole journeyman aspect. I always think of it as wheeling my little peddler's cart through the village, ringing the bell, seeing if anyone needs an actor.

Which of those experiences stand out to you? Was there a particular show you really enjoyed working on?
Well, I think I have a bad reputation for closing shows. I did Studio 60 and then that went off the air. I did The Wedding Bells and that went off the air.

You know, it's really hard to top The Wire, I have to tell you. That show has been such a joy for me that everything else pales by comparison. So, of my TV work, I can't off the top of my head think of anything that leaps out.

I had a great time on The Geena Davis Show. I played the school principal who was very nervous around Geena. The character had a big crush on her and would always hit on her whenever she came to visit her kids' school, so that was kind of a fun part.

You play Maurice Levy on the best show on television today, The Wire. What attracted you to the show and how was the character described to you initially?
To the first question, it always makes me laugh when actors get asked in interviews, "What drew you to the project?" and nobody tells the truth. The truth is, we like work. (Laughs.) So, you know, a job as an actor is never a bad offer.

We no longer have to keep this a secret - my sister is the executive producer. It was sort of an unusual journey for me getting the role. She called to ask if I wanted to audition for a different role, Barlow, and I didn't get the part. She said, "The bad news is that you didn't get the part, but the good news is David Simon would like you to come read for Levy."

And, I went and auditioned and apparently he looked at the tape and said, "Why are we looking at this? That's the guy." So that was the extent of it.

I don't know that it was ever described to me. With David Simon's writing, you take the pages and unfold the origami that's in the wording. You find the clues. And it's just so brilliantly written that, if you do your homework, you figure out exactly what's happening in the scene.

When did you first start to realize that The Wire might be something special?
I don't think I really got it until I saw it on television. I thought it was good and I loved the role because it was so different for me, but until I tuned in, I didn't really get what a great show it was. Then I became as addicted as any fan and I tried to forget what we filmed so I could be surprised every week.

Most of the characters on The Wire operate in shades of gray, but Maury Levy doesn't really seem to have any redeeming qualities. He's one of the least likeable characters on the show.
You've really hit the nail on the head. That's an excellent observation. In fact, one of my favorite things about The Wire is the complexities of the characters. You have Wee-Bey, the toughest shooter in the gang, who has to make sure his tropical fish are taken care of when he goes out of town to kill somebody.

And Levy's one of the few characters whose good side has never been shown. It's interesting. I have to tell you, at our premiere in Baltimore, we came outside and there was a protest. There were folks protesting the image of black people on the show. And I thought, "Have you taken a look at the portrayal of Jews on the show?" (Laughs.)

Black characters have been portrayed at all ends of the spectrum. I think that's really a flawed objection because we have wonderful, noble black characters on the show. But I think I'm the entire representation of Jews on the show. (Laughs.) Not so good.

I don't know exactly why David Simon did that, but I'm glad he never showed the good side of Levy because it's been much to fun to play an absolute son of a bitch.

Do you think there is a good side to Levy? Do you attempt to round out the character in your head?
Well, I had to find a reason why he did it because you don't ever want to say, "He's evil, so he likes doing bad things." And I decided that for Levy, it was very much about the chess game and he was very proud of being able to win unwinnable cases and make thugs look like people with great potential in society. So, for him, it was sort of the sense of "Aha! See what I did? You didn't think I could do that. Pretty good, huh?" I think that's sort of what drives him.