- Lance Reddick died at the age of 60 of natural causes on March 17.
- He was an actor famous for a recurring role on ‘The Wire’ and the ‘John Wick’ franchise.
- Reddick has several projects that will release posthumously, including ‘John Wick: Chapter 4.’
Actor Lance Reddick died on Friday morning, March 17. Variety confirmed from representatives that Reddick died of natural causes at his Studio City home in Los Angeles, as first reported by TMZ. Reddick was 60 when he passed away.
Among his many acting credits, Reddick is known for his recurring role on The Wire, where he played Cedric Daniels from 2002 to 2008. He is also recognized as Phillip Broyles in Fringe from 2008 to 2013. He was a familiar face in the John Wick franchise as Charon, a role he reprised for the upcoming John Wick: Chapter 4, releasing posthumously on March 24.
The TV, film, and video game industries mourn the passing of Lance Reddick
A man of great strength and grace. As talented a musician as he was an actor. The epitome of class. An sudden unexpected sharp painful grief for our artistic family. An unimaginable suffering for his personal family and loved ones. Godspeed my friend. You made your mark here. RIP pic.twitter.com/Xy0pl5c4NR
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) March 17, 2023
Reddick’s impressive resume spans multiple mediums, from television to movies to theater to video games. His colleague from The Wire, Wendell Pierce, remembered Reddick as “A man of great strength and grace. As talented a musician as he was an actor. The epitome of class. An sudden unexpected sharp painful grief for our artistic family. An unimaginable suffering for his personal family and loved ones. Godspeed my friend. You made your mark here. RIP.”
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Actor Ben Stiller remembered when Reddick worked with his mother “in her play ‘Afterplay’, playing Raziel, the waiter slash angel of death. He was exquisite in that and all he did.” Fellow actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan, a regular face in AMC’s The Walking Dead, called Reddick’s death “a big loss,” calling him “An amazing actor, and an even more amazing dude.”
The ultimate acting career
Lance Reddick was born on June 7, 1962, in Baltimore, Maryland. Initially, he studied music and pursued teaching composition before studying drama at Yale. Once into his acting career, which began in earnest in ’83, he eventually found his way to The Wire. He auditioned for multiple roles including Bubbles and Bunk Moreland but was ultimately cast as Cedric. Just as his time on The Wire was wrapping up, he joined Lost. He is among the five other actors to star in HBO’s Oz.
Reddick gained a reputation for playing tough, mysterious, and sometimes conniving characters with complex motives of their own. This really came to light with his performance in Fringe as paranormal activities investigator Phillip Broyles. Reddick called Broyles “a real hard-ass, but he’s also one of the good guys.” That can describe many of his characters, to varying degrees. In the John Wick franchise, he tried telling the titular hero the hotel has no service to care for his dog – but ended up quite enjoying the task anyway.
Reddick also lent his talents to voice acting, performing in season two of The Legend of Vox Machina on Amazon Prime, and Horizon Zero Dawn and its sequel Horizon Forbidden West. Gamers will also know him for his work in the Destiny games.
Reddick will be in several works releasing posthumously, including Hellboy: Web of Wyrd, Percy Jackson and the Olympians as Zeus, and the John Wick franchise, both in Chapter 4 and the spinoff-entry Ballerina. Rest in peace, a true acting legend.
