On March 17, John Wick and The Wire actor Lance Reddick died at the age of 60. This happened just one week before the release of John Wick: Chapter 4, which saw the actor reprising the role of Charon, the concierge of The Continental’s New York branch. Reddick had been making the Chapter 4 press rounds right before his death, and had been frequently paired with Ian McShane, who plays Winston, the hotel’s manager. McShane shared a statement expressing his “total shock and disbelief” upon the news of Reddick’s passing going public, and now he’s reflected on working with his costar, calling him a “delight.”
With their characters being the two main Continental representatives in the John Wick film series, Lance Reddick and Ian McShane naturally ended up spending a fair amount of time with each other over the last decade, so the latter got to know the former pretty well. In the latest issue of Empire Magazine (via SYFY), McShane had the following to say about his time with Reddick:
Our characters are so intertwined, and we became very close. He was a delight: a marvelously composed, serious actor. He brought dignity and strength and gravitas. A graceful performer. And we'd make each other laugh. We did our press together — it made sense ... We're very different people — I'm much more of a joker than he is. I don't put fart cushions under everybody's seat, but we complemented each other very well in interviews. Those days always passed very easily and fondly.
Clearly McShane not only enjoyed working with Reddick on the John Wick movies, but also spending time with him off camera. McShane also shared that he learned that the actor also well known from Fringe and Bosch had died after getting a text from Keanu Reeves while he was leaving a coffee shop in Venice, California. The Deadwood alum added that it’s “bittersweet” that Reddick isn’t around to “experience the great success” of John Wick: Chapter 4 with everyone else who worked on the 2023 new movie release, and that it’s especially “difficult” watching the feature now considering its major twist concerning Charon.
On April 6, it was reported that Lance Reddick’s death certificate listed that his immediate cause of death was from Ischemic heart disease, as well as Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. However, Reddick’s attorney, James Hornstein, later issued a statement disputing these findings, saying that his late client was “the most physically fit person I’ve ever known” and that “the death certificate information is not corroborated and is inconsistent with the facts known to the family.” There’s been no update on these conflicting claims since then, but the day after Reddick died, his wife, Stephanie, expressed her gratitude for the love and support shared with her during this difficult time.
Although Reddick is no longer with us, we will be seeing him a few more times onscreen posthumously. For one thing, next year he’ll be seen as Charon one last time in the Ana de Armas-led Ballerina, a spinoff taking place between the events of the third and fourth John Wick movies. He’ll be seen next month in the White Men Can’t Jump remake (which Hulu subscribers will be able to view), and his other final movies include Shirley and The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. Additionally, he’ll star as Zeus in the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which is expected to premiere sometime next year.
As for Ian McShane, he too will be reprising Winston as part of the cast assembled for Ballerina. Should you like to revisit the first three John Wick movies as Chapter 4 continues its theatrical run, they can be streamed with a Peacock subscription. That platform will also be home to The Continental miniseries, which dropped its first trailer earlier this week and show how a young Winston, played by Colin Woodell, ended up taking control of the hotel.
