Ellis Carver is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Seth Gilliam. Carver is a former Sergeant of the Baltimore Police Department's Western District Drug Enforcement Unit. While initially matched to the simple-minded and brutish policing of his loyal partner and unfailing friend Thomas "Herc" Hauk, under the counsel of Major Colvin in the Western District, Carver incrementally matures into a reflective and generally upstanding officer, often drawing the ire of his Western District colleagues.