Though he specialized urban-oriented roles onscreen, actor Tristan Wilds lacked an edgy intensity and instead ushered in a soft, sensitive spirit that suggested a tremendous amount of vulnerability and depth. A star from his mid- to late teens, Wilds gained particularly favorable attention on television, initially for his portrayal of broken home victim Michael Lee on HBO's The Wire (in the fourth season of that program), and for his supporting role in the Queen Latifah/Dakota Fanning drama The Secret Life of Bees. In 2008, Wilds signed to play Southern California high school student Dixon Wilson in 90210, a spinoff of the original Beverly Hills 90210. Four years later he was cast in the WWII fighter pilot drama Red Tails.