James "Jimmy" McNulty is a fictional character and the protagonist of the HBO drama The Wire, played by Dominic West. McNulty is an Irish-American detective in the Baltimore Police Department. While talented in his profession, McNulty's conceited belief that he is more intelligent than his peers and his willingness to ignore the chain of command in pursuit of his own investigative projects mean that he regularly incurs the wrath of his superiors. McNulty is loosely based on Ed Burns, co-writer of the series.