Actor Dan Franko ’97 appears Oct. 29 as a hard-boiled cop on HBO’s critically acclaimed series, “The Wire.” As Officer Ginter, Franko takes the mayor on a tour of Baltimore and gives him ideas about how to clean up the city.

“I’ve had speaking roles before, but this was the first Hollywood caliber set,” he says of the trailers and dressing rooms. “It was the big league and a very rewarding experience.”

Franko, a former Theatre major who has appeared in movies like “Cecil B. Demented” and “Something the Lord Made,” on TV shows such as “America’s Most Wanted” and “The West Wing,” and on stage and radio, is part of an eight-person production company called Dobler’s Pen, which produces independent films in the Baltimore-Washington region. Alumnus Chester Stacy ’97 is also a member. Read more about Dobler’s Pen (http://www.doblers-pen.com/).

“He is very talented and has been in the film industry since he left McDaniel,” says Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts Elizabeth van den Berg, who directed him in “Starmites,” one of her first shows at the College. “He comes across very naturally, especially with dialogue.”

Up next, Franko is editing the dramatic short film “Where’s Duff,” about a man dying from Alzheimer’s disease. And, if he’s lucky, Officer Ginter will return on The Wire.

“I didn’t die, so the possibility is out there that I’ll come back,” he says.