‘John Wick’ Series Star Lance Reddick Passes Away At 60 Reportedly Of Natural Causes
Spencer Baculi
|
In a particularly sudden and abrupt development, John Wick series star Lance Reddick has reportedly passed away at the relatively young age of 60.
Lance Reddick speaks with PlayStation about his time portraying Sylens in Horizon: Forbidden West (2022), Sony
News of the storied Hollywood actor’s untimely death was first reported on March 17th by celebrity gossip outlet TMZ.
Charon (Lance Reddick) shows his wares to John Wick (Keanu Reeves) in John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), Lionsgate Films
According to their alleged sources within the Los Angeles law enforcement community, Reddick’s body was found in his Studio City home at around 9:30 AM that same day.
While the exact nature of his passing has yet to be confirmed pending a proper autopsy, TMZ’s sources believe this tragedy to have been the result of “natural” causes.
Charon (Lance Reddick) stands watch at the Continental Hotel in John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), Lionsgate Films
Born in Balitmore in 1962, Reddick would catch the artistry bug at an early age, spending his teenage years studying music before eventually graduating with a Bachelor of Music from the University of Rochester’s prestigious Eastman School of Music.
However, despite his love of melody, Reddick would eventually switch gears to acting, enrolling in the Yale School of Drama in 1991 and graduating with a Master of Fine Arts just three years later.
General Guillermin (Lance Reddick) and Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler) watch on as Mecha Godzilla unleashes its might in Godzilla vs Kong (2021), Warner Bros. Pictures
Hopping from bit part-to-bit part for the next few years – including a recurring role as Johnny Basil in Oz and an uncredited appearance as one of the U.S. soldiers who confronts the eponymous kaiju on the Manthattan Bridge in Roland Emmerich’s 1998 Godzilla outing – the early 2000s would see Reddick land the breakout role of his career when he was cast as Cedric Daniels in HBO’s The Wire.
From there, Reddick’s star would only grow, with the actor subsequently landing significant roles across nearly every creative medium.
Lt. Daniels (Lance Reddick) gives Deputy Commissioner Ervin H. Burrell in The Wire Season 1 Episode 12 “Cleaning Up” (2002), HBO
On the silver screen, Reddick would breathe life into such supporting roles as Jerry Shaw in Canal Street, Charon in the aforementioned John Wick series, and as the criminally underutilized leader of Monarch, Guillermin, in Godzilla vs. Kong.
Reddick even had a well-established video game voice over career, as after making his digital debut as Derek Carter in 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, the actor would further portray such virtual characters as Martin Hatch in Quantum Break, Commander Zavala across the Destiny series, and Sylens in the thus-far Horizon duology.
Sylens (Lance Reddick) offers Aloy (Ashly Burch) a position at his side in Horizon: Forbidden West (2022), Sony
But it was in the realm of television that Reddick would truly earn his stripes.
In addition to his role in The Wire, Reddick made waves with his notable portrayals of such characters as Phillip Broyles on Fringe, Matthew Abaddon on Lost, and Deputy Chief Irving Irving in the Amazon crime drama Bosch (However, the less said of his widely-panned appearance in Netflix’s recent Resident Evil attempt, the better).
Source: RESIDENT EVIL. (L to R) LANCE REDDICK as ALBERT, LANCE REDDICK as ALBERT in RESIDENT EVIL. CR. NETFLIX © 2021
As of writing, Reddick has four projects now set to be released posthumously: Hulu’s remake of White Men Can’t Jump, Disney Plus’ upcoming Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (in which he was set to portray Zeus), and the two John Wick universe entries John Wick: Chapoter 4 and the female-centric franchise spin-0ff Ballerina.
Lance Reddick does his best LeVar Burton impression on The Eric Andre Show Season 2 Episode 78 “Lance Reddick/Harry Shum Jr.” (2013), Adult Swim
NEXT: Director Adam Wingard Explains Why Lance Reddick Was Mostly Cut From ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’
More About:Celebrity