Lance Reddick, best known for his performance in the “John Wick” franchise and HBO’s hit show “The Wire,” was found dead at his home in Studio City, California on Friday morning. He was 60 years old.
Reddick died “suddenly”, his publicist Mia Hansen said in a statementattributing his death to natural causes.
He was in the middle of a press tour for the fourth “John Wick” movie, and was scheduled to appear on Kelly Clarkson’s talk show the following week.
He is survived by his wife, Stephanie Reddick, and their children Yvonne Nicole Reddick and Christopher Reddick.
Reddick was born in 1962 in Baltimore, Maryland. He studied music at Peabody Preparatory Institute before enrolling at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, where he majored in classical music composition.
in a 2012 interview with the CBC, Reddick opened up about his early adult life as a struggling musician, waiting tables and delivering newspapers in Boston, trying to support his young daughter. Reddick said he worked three jobs until he pulled a muscle in his back and realized he needed to make a change.
The epiphany led him to audition for acting schools. Reddick was eventually admitted to the Yale School of Drama, where he earned his MFA in 1994. He began acting on stage as an understudy in “Angels in America” on Broadway.
The fresh start paved the way for a prolific acting career that spanned 25 years, 30 movies, and countless television appearances.
Arguably Reddick’s most notable role was his portrayal of Police Lieutenant Cedric Daniels on “The Wire,” which was praised for its realistic portrayal of crime and police in his hometown of Baltimore.
He also appeared in the 1997 HBO prison drama “Oz,” the Fox drama “Fringe” and the Amazon crime series “Bosch,” as well as the 2013 action thriller “White House Down” and video games like “Horizon Zero Dawn.” “.
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Reddick had trouble being typecast as a cop after his role on “The Wire.” in a 2020 Interview with “The Off Camera Show” he recalled getting the script for “Bosch” and “freaking out” because it was another role as a police officer. However, he eventually accepted the role.
Michael Connelly, the creator of “Bosch”, took to Twitter to mourn the loss of Reddick.
“Thinking of my friend Lance Reddick,” Connelly wrote. “More than being a key ingredient in the ‘Bosch’ show, he was a wonderful person, friend and collaborator. He took a character who was paper thin in the books and made Irvin Irving.”
“Multidimensional, Machiavellian, intriguing and even likeable. I loved working with him. I loved meeting him. He is gone too soon,” Connelly added.
Reddick was also highly respected by his peers.
In his interview with the CBC, Reddick recalled walking through a cafe in New York when a man yelled “good actor!” Reddick turned and saw that he was Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman.
with cable news services