Off The Record
Lance Reddick Dies: ‘John Wick’, ‘The Wire’, ‘Fringe’ & ‘Bosch’ Actor Passed Away
A prolific actor for almost twenty-five years, Lance Reddick passed away today.
He was best known for his role as Charon in all four John Wick films, but he also had recurring appearances on The Wire, Fringe, and Bosch. He was 60.
His public relations company, Picture PR, confirmed his death, citing natural causes but giving no other information.
Last week, the actor was promoting his next film John Wick: Chapter Four, which will star Keanu Reeves. Ballerina, a film spinoff from the Harry Potter series, was also supposed to star him.
At the middle of the 1990s, Reddick began appearing on TV in guest roles on shows like The Nanny and New York Undercover. In the latter half of the decade, he acted in films including Great Expectations and The Siege, and he had a recurring role in HBO’s Emmy-winning miniseries The Corner (2000), adapted from David Simon’s novel.
Also in that year, he made a dozen appearances on another gritty HBO drama, Oz. At about the same time, Reddick had a recurring role on Law & Order: SVU.
Yet the next job he played could be his most well-known.
On The Wire, another HBO drama written and created by Simon, Reddick played the role of Cedric Daniels.
Although the series was not a huge hit when it first premiered, it has now gone on to become one of the most critically praised and significant works of the 21st century. A rising power in the Baltimore Police Department, Reddick’s character rises through the ranks from lieutenant to major to commissioner over the course of the show’s five seasons and 60 episodes.
During his time on The Wire, Reddick appeared on several crime series, including recurring roles on Law & Order and CSI: Miami and guest spots on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Before getting another role for which he would become well-known, he appeared in episodes of Lost, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Numbers.
In the pilot episode of Fox’s Fringe, Reddick played Phillip Broyles, a Homeland Security special agent in charge of the Fringe section, which looked into mysterious events and acts of terrorism. J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman’s series ran from 2008 to 2013, and he was in majority of the show’s 100 episodes.
After Fringe ended, Reddick continued to appear on other TV shows as a guest star, such as The Blacklist, Wilfred, and an episode of Intelligence. Then, John Wick made contact with them.
In the 2014 picture that kicked off the action franchise, Reddick co-starred as Charon, the concierge of the Continental Hotel in New York City, who frequently assists Keanu’s character. Chapter Four, which is set for broad release on March 24, marks his fourth appearance in the Wick series. In the 2019 video game John Wick Hex, he provided the voice for the Charon character.
In reality, Reddick’s voice work was equally prolific. Rick and Morty, Castlevania, Paradise PD, Farzar, The Legend of Vox Machina, and Duck Tales are just few of the animated shows he has worked on. Some of his video game roles include Martin Hatch in Quantum Break and Commander Zavala in the Destiny series. He also had roles in Horizon: Zero Dawn and Horizon: Forbidden West.
After the first Wick, Reddick went back to guest-starring on television, appearing in episodes of shows like American Horror Story and Carrier before landing a series regular role in Bosch, Prime Video’s hit L.A.-based crime drama starring Titus Welliver as the relentless homicide detective Harry Bosch. From 2014 until 2017, Reddick starred in all 68 episodes of the show as Police Chief Irvin Irving.
Throughout the course of Bosch’s run, the actor would land another series regular role, this time in Corporate on Comedy Central. In the film, he portrayed Christian DeVille, CEO of the multinational firm Hampton DeVille, who relishes the opportunity to capitalize on the misfortune of others. In the two seasons (2018–20), he was in 18 of the show’s 24 episodes.
(just a day ago, Lance Reddick posted an image on Instagram while he is enjoying his time with his dogs)
Reddick was a main cast member on the Netflix series Resident Evil, which was based on the popular video game franchise, last year. He played many Weskers in the live-action series, which was canceled after its first season.
Godzilla vs. Kong, One Night in Miami, Sylvie’s Love, Faith Based, and Angel Has Fallen are just a few of Reddick’s recent film roles.
In addition to his part as Charon in the John Wick spinoff picture Ballerina, in which Ana de Armas stars, he has upcoming appearances in the remake of White Men Can’t Jump by 20th Century Studios, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, and the John Ridley-directed and Regina King-costarred Shirley.
His wife, Stephanie, and their children, Yvonne and Christopher, will miss him dearly.
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