Lance Reddick, star of ‘The Wire’ and ‘John Wick,’ dead at 60

Lance Reddick, an actor famous for his roles in the John Wick movies and HBO’s The Wire, has died at the age of 60.

Reddick died “suddenly” Friday morning, his publicist Mia Hansen said in a statement, attributing his death to natural causes. His death was first reported by celebrity website TMZ.com.

Reddick, who plays the character of Charon in the John Wick movies, had been on a press tour for the franchise’s fourth instalment and was set to visit The Kelly Clarkson Show next week.

The actor appeared to skip out on the New York City premiere of John Wick 4 on Wednesday, posting a video of himself with his dogs on social media instead. It’s not clear why he chose not to attend the event.

Reddick was often put in a suit or a crisp uniform during his career, playing tall taciturn and elegant men of distinction. He was best known for his role as straight-laced Lt. Cedric Daniels on the hit HBO series The Wire where his character was agonizingly trapped in the messy politics of the Baltimore police department.

“I’m an artist at heart. I feel that I’m very good at what I do. When I went to drama school, I knew I was at least as talented as other students, but because I was a Black man and I wasn’t pretty, I knew I would have to work my butt off to be the best that I would be, and to be noticed,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 2009.

He also had roles in small screen productions including American Horror Story, Fringe, Bosch, Oz and Lost.

Reddick earned a SAG Award nomination in 2021 as part of the ensemble for Regina King’s film One Night in Miami. His upcoming projects include 20th Century’s remake of White Men Can’t Jump and Shirley, Netflix’s biopic of former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. He was also slated to appear in the John Wick spinoff Ballerina, as well as The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial.

The Baltimore-born-and-raised Reddick was a Yale University drama school graduate who enjoyed some success after school, but it was on season four of Oz, playing a doomed undercover officer sent to prison who becomes an addict, that Reddick had a career breakthrough.

“I was never interested in television. I always saw it as a means to an end. Like so many actors, I was only interested in doing theater and film. But Oz changed television. It was the beginning of HBO’s reign on quality, edgy, artistic stuff. Stuff that harkens back to great cinema of the ’60s and ’70s,” he told The Associated Press in 2011.

“When the opportunity for Oz came up, I jumped. And when I read the pilot for The Wire, as a guy that never wanted to be on television, I realized I had to be on this show.”

Reddick is survived by his wife, Stephanie Reddick, and children, Yvonne Nicole Reddick and Christopher Reddick.

— with files from The Associated Press

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