James Ransone, the American actor best known for his work in 12 episodes of The Wire, has died in Los Angeles.
Information from the Los Angeles medical examiner indicated Ransone, 46, died on Friday by suicide.
Ransone portrayed the dock worker turned petty criminal Chester “Ziggy” Sobotka in season two of David Simon’s critically acclaimed Baltimore crime drama The Wire. He later acted alongside Alexander Skarsgård in Generation Kill, also helmed by Simon.
In Generation Kill, Ransone played real-life marine Cpl Josh Ray Person across all seven episodes of the HBO show.
Ransone more recently appeared in It Chapter Two as the fictional character Eddie Kaspbrak.
News of his death prompted an outpouring of condolences on social media from fans or collaborators on the various productions in which he participated. One fan tribute in particular hailed how his work on It Chapter Two stood out in a cast whose members included Bill Hader, Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy and Skarsgård’s brother, Bill, who portrays the antagonist Pennywise.
Among those in Hollywood to weigh in was Ransone’s fellow actor Wendell Pierce, who worked alongside him on The Wire and Treme, another Simon creation.
“Sorry I couldn’t be there for you, brother,” the Tony award winner wrote on social media.
Film-makers Spike Lee, Larry Clark and Sean Baker – who each directed Ransone during his career – expressed similar sentiments. “I’ll miss you dearly,” the Oscar-winning Baker said in a social media post.
Ransone’s widow, Jamie McPhee, published a social media note thanking him for their “greatest gifts”: their six-year-old son, Jack, and daughter Violet, four.
“I have loved you 1000 times before and I know I will love you again,” McPhee’s post said. “We are forever.”
Ransone was born in Baltimore in 1979. He attended the Carver Center for Arts and Technology in Towson, Maryland, from 1993 to 1997. He got his break co-starring in the 2002 teen drama Ken Park before landing his role on The Wire a year later.
In 2021, Ransone shared that he was sexually abused by a former tutor who worked in Maryland public schools, as the Baltimore Sun reported. He wrote on Instagram that the abuse was a factor in alcohol and heroin addictions with which he later grappled.
The celebrity news source Page Six reported that Ransone in 2020 reported the abuse he described, but authorities declined to pursue criminal charges.
Ransone in 2016 spoke to Interview magazine of how he would “wrestle with the catharsis of acting”.
Some of his roles called on him to humanize characters who were not likable, “so I find myself living in a lot of unlikable skin”, he said. “As a result of that, I don’t always feel good.”
• In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
