Lance Reddick, the lanky, stalwart character actor whose no-nonsense demeanor was on full display in the John Wick franchise opposite Keanu Reeves and acclaimed series like The Wire, Oz and Lost, died on Friday. Mia Hansen, the actor’s representative at Portait PR, told Yahoo that Reddick “passed away suddenly of natural causes.”
“Lance will be greatly missed,” said Hansen, who requested privacy for the actor’s surviving family members, wife Stephanie and children Yvonne Nicole and Christopher.
Reddick was noticeably absent from the John Wick: Chapter 4 premiere in New York City on Wednesday for reasons not immediately made clear. However the actor, who plays Charon, was doing press and participated in multiple interviews this week. The film is set to be released March 24.
In a joint statement, franchise star Reeves and Chapter 4 director Chad Stahelski announced they were dedicating the sequel to their “beloved friend” Reddick.
“We are deeply saddened and heartbroken at the loss of our beloved friend and colleague Lance Reddick. He was the consummate professional and a joy to work with,” the duo said, sending prayers to Reddick’s family. “We dedicate the film to his loving memory. We will miss him dearly.”
Reddick’s breakout role came in 2000 on HBO’s prison drama Oz, playing ill-fated undercover cop Johnny Basil in a major Season 4 story arc. Reddick quickly established himself as a go-to TV presence in dozens of top-tier shows, including Law & Order: SVU, Lost and CSI: Miami. He starred as Lt. Cedric Daniels on all five seasons of The Wire and played Phillip Broyles on Fringe from 2008 to 2013. More recently he appeared in all seasons of Prime TV’s Bosch as Irvin Irving, co-starred in Netflix’s 2022 Resident Evil series and portrayed Zeus in the upcoming Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
In addition to the four John Wick films, Reddick had been set to star opposite Ana de Armas in the green-lit spinoff, Ballerina. His other film credits in Godzilla vs. Kong and White House Down. He stars in Kenya Barris and Doug Hall’s remake of White Men Can’t Jump with rapper Jack Harlow, out later this year.
Wendell Pierce, who starred alongside Reddick on The Wire, called his friend “the epitome of class” and said the actor’s death is an “unexpected sharp painful grief for our artistic family.”
A man of great strength and grace. As talented a musician as he was an actor. The epitome of class. An sudden unexpected sharp painful grief for our artistic family. An unimaginable suffering for his personal family and loved ones. Godspeed my friend. You made your mark here. RIP pic.twitter.com/Xy0pl5c4NR
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) March 17, 2023
Wire creator David Simon released a statement calling Reddick “a consummate professional, a devoted collaborator, a lovely soul and a friend. This is just gutting and way, way, way too soon for any of us who knew and loved him to contemplate.”
