Titus Welliver Swaps Harry Bosch for a Darker Role in ‘The Westies’

Titus Welliver has spent a decade embodying the moral compass of the LAPD, but now he is taking on a role that completely transforms that image. The actor, renowned for his portrayal of detective Harry Bosch, has stepped into MGM+’s new crime drama ‘The Westies,’ where the connection between the two characters runs deeper than mere appearance.

For fans looking for a Harry Bosch fix, Welliver’s latest character offers familiar elements, despite the stark contrast to Los Angeles. Both characters grapple with the burdens of military service and a personal code that often conflicts with the law, making the comparison inescapable.

Welliver portrayed Harry Bosch across more than 100 episodes in ‘Bosch,’ ‘Bosch: Legacy,’ and the recent spinoff ‘Ballard,’ showcasing his decade-long journey as the LAPD detective and quintessential antihero. Such longevity often leads to typecasting, but Welliver is actively proving otherwise.

Even while filming his new series, Welliver found time to reprise his role as Harry Bosch in several episodes of ‘Ballard’ Season 2, a choice he made despite his busy schedule with ‘The Westies.’ This illustrates his enduring loyalty to the character as he explores new avenues.

His recent endeavors extend beyond these two projects. Welliver also portrayed a menacing crime boss named Dominic McNair in the fourth season of AMC’s ‘Dark Winds,’ in addition to his central role as NYPD officer Glenn Keenan in ‘The Westies.’

The essence of the Bosch comparison lies in how both characters were molded by their wartime experiences before donning a badge. In Michael Connelly’s novels, Bosch served in the Vietnam War as part of the 1st Infantry Division before joining the LAPD, while the TV adaptation reimagines him as a Special Forces operative who fought in the Gulf War. This military background is pivotal to Bosch’s identity as a detective.

Keenan follows a similar path but with a significantly darker outcome. In ‘The Westies,’ Keenan completed two tours in Vietnam as a Force Recon Marine, and like Bosch, that experience eroded his ethical foundation. The key difference lies in how far each man allows that erosion to lead him.

While Bosch bends the rules in pursuit of justice, Keenan appears ready to break them entirely for those he loves. Keenan goes much further than Bosch, vowing to protect his lifelong friend regardless of the legal ramifications. This loyalty is deeply rooted in his upbringing alongside many Westies gang members, complicating his moral compass as he balances his duties as a cop with his lifelong ties to his Irish heritage and the gang’s leader, Sweeney.

Welliver himself has embraced just how far Keenan diverges from Bosch’s clear-cut sense of justice. In a conversation with ScreenRant, as noted by Cheatsheet, Welliver likened Keenan to Darth Vader, explaining that while he technically serves as a police officer, he no longer embodies that role, as he is more committed to the tribal loyalty of being Irish and safeguarding Hell’s Kitchen from the Italian mafia. This marks a stark departure from Bosch’s famous philosophy that ‘everybody counts or nobody counts.’

‘The Westies’ is set in the early 1980s and chronicles the real-life Irish American gang that once dominated Hell’s Kitchen in New York City. The series, created by Chris Brancato of ‘Narcos’ and ‘Godfather of Harlem,’ unfolds over eight episodes on MGM+.

The narrative focuses on a pivotal moment in New York history when a significant construction project turned into a battleground. The plot tracks the rise of the Westies as they leverage the construction of the Javits Center in Hell’s Kitchen as a base to compete against the Italian American mafia. This setting is ripe for the kind of tension that made shows like ‘Peaky Blinders’ so captivating.

Despite being heavily outnumbered by the Five Families of the Italian mafia, the Westies’ notorious brutality and cunning allowed them to maintain a fragile balance and share in the spoils.

Welliver is not the only familiar face leading the series. He stars alongside Oscar winner J.K. Simmons in the eight-part crime drama, which premiered on MGM+ on July 12, with Jessica Frances Dukes and Tom Brittney also featured in the cast, as confirmed by WTHR.

Early reviews suggest that critics are responding positively to the show’s initial episodes. The series follows two childhood friends who took divergent paths, with one joining the Westies gang while the other became a police officer, and it has debuted with a strong score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Welliver also revealed a surprisingly personal connection to the material that initially drew him to the project. In an interview with Collider, he shared that he once had a roommate whose father was an actual Westie, and he was eager to tell a story that had not yet been portrayed on a major scale.

By transitioning from one of television’s most beloved detectives to a cop who has lost his moral way, Welliver is demonstrating that there is much more depth behind that steely gaze than ‘Bosch’ fans may have realized. If you’ve already watched the premiere, what are your thoughts on Glenn Keenan as the anti-Bosch in Welliver’s career?