I've just finished watching The Wire and was pondering how TV companies go about casting. The actors were all superb but it was surprising to see two of the principals were English. Was it an aberration because The Wire was so very classy and the casting went for the perfect actor? Or is this a trend?
There was also the Irish actor Aiden Gillen, who played Carcetti. The original pilot for Life On Mars featured 2 Irish actors in the lead, Jason O'Meara as Sam Tyler (who remained in the series) and Colm Meaney as Gene Hunt.
The late Glen Quinn was Irish American and got to show off his US accent in Roseanne, then his Irish one in Angel.
Funnily enough, Dominic West (who's Anglo-Irish incidentally), McNulty in The Wire, was (tongue in cheek, I think) moaning about US or other non-British actors playing iconic British roles - Russell Crowe as Robin Hood, RDJ as Sherlock Holmes. He said he was playing the Australian inventor of penicillen as a way of getting one back for the Brits. It was reported as a 'rant' on his part, but I'm pretty sure he was just having a joke. BTW, West was the second choice for the role of McNulty - the first was another Brit, Ray Winston. West also recently played Jigsaw in The Punisher - War Zone opposite fellow Brit Ray Stevenson, while the role of Jigsaw was also offered to their countryman Paddy Considine.
Interestingly enough, The Wire's Clarke Peters, aka Lester Freamon, is now based in the UK.