Dennis "Cutty" Wise is a fictional character inspired by real-life boxing trainer Calvin Ford on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Chad Coleman.

He works with young soldiers Sapper and Gerard to track down a thief in the Barksdale organization, and his experience and intelligence enables them to quickly identify the culprit.

Cutty is appalled when the younger soldiers almost kill the young dealer, believing a warning beating sufficient to modify his behavior but keep him fit to work for them.

At first he is overwhelmed by the bureaucracy and red tape involved in opening the gym, but receives political backing from the deacon's contact, Rev.

Wise connects with sergeant Ellis Carver through his efforts to encourage children away from drug dealing through sports, and the two develop a mutual respect.

However, the turf war comes to a sudden end when Avon is arrested, and Cutty finds his gym quickly deserted as the children return to work.

Wise receives a great deal of attention from the women of the neighborhood, including the mothers of some of his trainees, who are, it is suggested, jumping at the opportunity to meet a decent and paternal man in a community in which many men have been absent, corrupted, killed, or incarcerated.

[1] In season five, Wise is briefly shown when Michael Lee, looking out for his friend Duquan "Dukie" Weems, drops him off to train with Cutty.

Cutty watches Dukie fight and, seeing his ineptitude as a boxer, tells him that he has other talents and tries to inspire him to leave Baltimore, though he ultimately admits that he himself, despite having reformed, doesn't know how to get out.

George Pelecanos is given credit with creating the character of Dennis Wise, based on unused notes from his novel Drama City about a man getting out of prison after almost two decades.

David Simon's books Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and The Corner (written with Ed Burns) both mention the real Dennis Wise.