Idris Elba had to pretend to be from Brooklyn to land his breakthrough role as Russell “Stringer” Bell in HBO’s The Wire.

Speaking on web series Hot Ones, the Golden Globe winner said: “Alexa Fogel was a casting director that was really into seeing new talent. She said ‘I love you, I gotta bring you into this audition, but you have to promise that you can’t tell him you’re from East London.’”

Creator of The Wire David Simon had wanted to cast only Americans, feeling they were better able to relate the experiences of the characters and the Baltimore setting of the series.

Now it's official: 'The Wire' is a work of genius Show all 2 1 /2 Now it's official: 'The Wire' is a work of genius Now it's official: 'The Wire' is a work of genius David Simon, creator of The Wire. The Foundation cited Simon for his full opus of television dramas, saying that they viewed urban life 'through the lens of a hard-edged, cautiously optimistic realism' GETTY IMAGES Now it's official: 'The Wire' is a work of genius Wendell Pierce and Dominic West star in 'The Wire' BBC/HBO

However, Elba’s cover was blown in the fourth round of auditions, when asked directly about where he was from, and what it was like growing up.

“My parents told me not to lie—you gotta look someone in the eye and be honest.”

Despite the revelation the actor was from London he was still cast in The Wire, although not as Avon Barksdale, the character he had originally auditioned to play.