The gritty world of The Westies isn't about clear-cut heroes or villains—it's a survival story where morality is murky and everyone's got a price. Set against the backdrop of New York City's violent Irish gang, the series follows FBI Special Agent Birdie Polk (Jessica Frances Dukes) as she tries to dismantle the criminal empire. Her unlikely ally? Officer Glenn Keenan (Titus Welliver), a cop who's long since abandoned any sense of justice or self-respect. Polk sees something in Keenan—a flicker of the man he used to be—and she's determined to use it to her advantage.
In a recent interview, Welliver and Dukes opened up about the complex dynamics of their characters, the strained father-son relationship, and what a certain iconic detective might think of Keenan's choices.
Polk Knows Exactly What She's Doing
From the moment Birdie Polk enters the picture, it's clear she's playing a long game. Dukes explains that her character didn't stumble upon Keenan by accident—she deliberately sought him out. "She needed the right person to infiltrate," Dukes says. "This was a time when nobody was talking to the Feds or the cops. It was against the rules of the neighborhood. But when you meet somebody so broken, that has so much success in them, there's that middle line in that character that you can try to reach and grab onto."
Polk is a master manipulator, using Keenan's vulnerabilities as leverage. She knows he's lost almost everything, and she's counting on that to make him desperate enough to cooperate. "She has created this entire game, and he is a piece in it for her," Dukes adds. "I believe she knows exactly the extent of who he is, and that's why he's the perfect person for the job."
A Father's Brutal Reality
One of the most intense moments in the series comes when Keenan's estranged son tells him, "The only good cop is a dead cop," leading to a violent confrontation. Welliver explains that Keenan isn't suddenly overwhelmed by paternal guilt—he's just a man who's stopped caring about anything, including himself. "When she shows him the photograph of his son with Eddie Breen, there's a sudden consciousness," Welliver says. "It's not that he suddenly has this enormous swelling of paternal responsibility. He just doesn't want this for his kid."
Keenan's response is rooted in the only world he knows—the law of the jungle. "When he's disrespected by his son, that is the norm. He puts hands on him because that's all he knows," Welliver explains. But there's a later scene where Keenan apologizes, offering a rare glimpse of the man he once was. "That's really the glimpse into who Keenan was, at one time," he says.
Birdie Polk: A Woman in a Man's World
Dukes draws inspiration from real-life trailblazers like Sylvia Mathis, the first Black woman to graduate from the FBI Academy in 1976. "Playing Birdie allows me to imagine, if she had the opportunities that others had in that time, who would she be and how would she run that room?" Dukes says. She hopes viewers see Birdie as someone protecting her home just as fiercely as the gangsters do. "I would love to see why New York is hers, as well," she adds.
What Would Harry Bosch Think?
Welliver is no stranger to playing cops—he spent seven seasons as the morally upright Harry Bosch on Bosch and its sequel Bosch: Legacy. So, what would Bosch make of Keenan? "Bosch would probably want to arrest him," Welliver jokes, but he also notes that Bosch understands the gray areas of law enforcement. "Bosch has his own code, but he's not above bending rules when it serves justice. Keenan, though, has crossed a line that Bosch would never cross."
Welliver is also excited about the upcoming prequel series Bosch: Start of Watch, which will explore the detective's early days. "It's a chance to show how Bosch became the guy we know," he says. For now, fans can catch him in The Westies, where he brings a different kind of cop to life—one who's lost his way but might just find a reason to fight again.
For more on Welliver's iconic role, check out why 'Everybody Counts' remains the defining line for Titus Welliver's Bosch.
