President Obama’s inauguration was a star-studded affair, with some of America’s most famous personalities and entertainers showing up at concerts, gala events or with prime seats to Tuesday’s swearing-in. One star, though, tried to translate her fame into better seating—with mixed results.

New York Magazine relates the story of Sonja Sohn, who famously played Detective Shakima Gregg on HBO’s The Wire, but couldn’t manage to parlay her celebrity to get her any closer to President Obama than the rest of us. Sohn reportedly was able to talk her way past a number of police officers from the standing-room purple area to the seated yellow area, but that was about as far as she got:

When we tried to dodge a line heading away from the Capitol, a female cop stopped Sohn. “Hey, my sister! My name is Sonja Sohn. I respect your job so much. I was on The Wire. My friends and I were going to go down this hill, all right?” “Ma’am,” the officer replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Then she gently nudged us through a gate with the rest of the cattle. “Damn,” said Sohn, moving along. “I really thought I was gonna hook that up.”

Sorry, Det. Gregg.The Wire was one of the best shows to have graced television in, well, ever, but it was also on HBO, and not everyone out there can afford premium cable channels. And, let’s face it—you’re no Omar. He would have gotten his way.