Lance Reddick, ‘The Wire’ and ‘John Wick’ Star, Dies at 60

A new John Wick movie is opening in theaters next week, featuring many of the franchise’s longtime stars — including Lance Reddick, who plays Charon, the efficient concierge of the film’s Continental Hotel. But in a shocking bit of news, Reddick has died in the midst of the John Wick: Chapter 4 press tour. According to TMZ, Reddick’s body “was discovered at his Studio City home Friday morning around 9:30 AM. His cause of death is currently unclear, but our law enforcement sources say it appears to be natural.” Reddick was only 60 years old.

They also note that Reddick was posting videos of himself to social media as recently as Wednesday morning — although they note he appeared to be in his home rather than attending the John Wick premiere in New York City.

Reddick was born and raised in Baltimore, a fact that came in handy for the role that first brought Reddick to widespread attention and acclaim, playing Lt. Daniels of the Baltimore Police Department on the classic HBO cop series The Wire. Reddick appeared on all five seasons of the show, stealing scenes with his intense, no-nonsense line deliveries.

A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Reddick also had recurring roles on Oz (as undercover cop Johnny Basil) and Lost (as Matthew Abaddon on the series fourth and fifth seasons). He then went on to play a starring role on four seasons of Fringe as the leader of the Fringe division, and on Bosch, where he played another hardboiled cop. He was recently seen as Albert Wesker on Netflix’s Resident Evil TV show, and will soon appear as Zeus in Disney’s upcoming Percy Jackson and the Olympians show. He has done dozens of other guest spots on television series; since The Wire ended, he has never stopped working.

In the world of film, Reddick had roles in films ranging from White House Down and Oldboy to The Guest and Godzilla vs. Kong. As Charon, the right-hand man of Continental Hotel manager Winston, he was a steady, dryly hilarious presence in every John Wick film. He also has a supporting role in the upcoming John Wick spinoff film Ballerina.

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This is just terrible, shocking news. Reddick was a young man, still very much in his prime as an actor. He should have had decades of roles still ahead of him. What a tragedy.