HBO’s "The Wire" has been off the air for four years, but it’s still having an impact — and not just in Hollywood. Actress Sonja Sohn, who starred on the show as police detective Shakima "Kima" Greggs, ended up sticking around town after its final season to start a non-profit called "ReWired for Change" that helps formerly incarcerated people transition back into everyday life. Sohn recently told NPR that the idea to start the organization came to her in 2008 as she toured the country with the rest of her cast members in an effort to get out the vote:

"We thought, ‘Hey, if we can pull folks off the basketball courts in Charlotte to go vote … what else could we do?’ At that point, we thought we just couldn’t use this social capital to promote our careers — it seemed so small," she says. "So when I came up with this idea that we start this nonprofit, the fellows all liked the idea and they said, ‘We don’t have time to run it, but if you can run it, we got your back,’ and they became the founding members of the organization."

Her profile over at NPR goes into much more detail, including her personal and professional struggles, and the moment when she wanted to quit the celebrated show.

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