The Wire, John Wick actor Lance Reddick dies, aged 60
Lance Reddick, a character actor who specialised in intense, icy and possibly sinister authority figures on TV and film, including The Wire, Fringe and the John Wick franchise, has died. He was 60.
Key points:Lance Reddick died of natural causes according to his publicistHe was best known for his role as straight-laced Lt Cedric Daniels on The WireHis upcoming projects include the White Men Can't Jump remake and a biopic of Shirley ChisolmReddick died "suddenly" on Friday morning, local time, his publicist Mia Hansen said in a statement, attributing his death to natural causes.
The actor was often put in a suit or a crisp uniform during his career, playing tall, taciturn and elegant men of distinction.
He was best known for his role as straight-laced Lt Cedric Daniels on the hit HBO series The Wire, where his character was agonisingly trapped in the messy politics of the Baltimore police department.
"I'm an artist at heart," he told the Los Angeles Times in 2009. "I feel that I'm very good at what I do.
"When I went to drama school, I knew I was at least as talented as other students, but because I was a Black man and I wasn't pretty, I knew I would have to work my butt off to be the best that I would be, and to be noticed."
Reddick also starred on the Fox series Fringe as a special agent Phillip Broyles, the smartly dressed Matthew Abaddon on Lost and played the multi-skilled Continental Hotel concierge Charon in the John Wick movies, including the fourth in the series opening this month
He earned a SAG Award nomination in 2021 as part of the ensemble for Regina King's film One Night in Miami.
Reddick played recurring roles on Intelligence and American Horror Story and was on the show Bosch for its seven-year run.
His upcoming projects include 20th Century's remake of White Men Can't Jump and Shirley, Netflix's biopic of former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm.
He was also slated to appear in the John Wick spin-off Ballerina, as well as The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial.
'Never interested in television'The Baltimore-born-and-raised Reddick was a Yale University drama school graduate who enjoyed some success after school by landing guest or recurring roles CSI: Miami and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
He also appeared in several movies, including I Dreamed of Africa, The Siege and Great Expectations.
It was on season four of Oz, playing a doomed undercover officer sent to prison who becomes an addict, that Reddick had a career breakthrough.
"I was never interested in television," he said in 2011.
"I always saw it as a means to an end. Like so many actors, I was only interested in doing theatre and film.
"But Oz changed television. It was the beginning of HBO's reign on quality, edgy, artistic stuff. Stuff that harkens back to great cinema of the '60s and '70s.
"When the opportunity for Oz came up, I jumped. And when I read the pilot for The Wire, as a guy that never wanted to be on television, I realised I had to be on this show."
A man of many talentsReddick attended the prestigious Eastman School of Music, where he studied classical composition, and he played piano.
His first album, the jazzy Contemplations and Remembrances, came out in 2011.
Reddick had a recurring role as Jeffrey Tetazoo, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, on CBS' Intelligence.
On American Horror Story: Coven, Reddick portrayed Papa Legba, the go-between between humanity and the spirit world.
Reddick is survived by his wife, Stephanie Reddick, and children, Yvonne Nicole Reddick and Christopher Reddick.
AP
