James Ransone, star of The Wire and It: Chapter Two, dies at age 46
James Ransone, pictured here in 2019, has died at age 46. (AFP: Robyn Beck)
In short:
US actor James Ransone, who starred in several HBO series, including The Wire, has died at age 46.
Ransone played dock worker-turned-petty criminal Ziggy Sobotka in The Wire and adult Eddie Kaspbrak in It: Chapter Two.
What's next?
Production company Blumhouse was the first to lead tributes.
James Ransone, an actor best known for playing Ziggy Sobotka in The Wire and also starring in It: Chapter Two, has died at age 46, according to LA medical authorities.
The actor died from suicide, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
Ransone played the dock worker-turned-petty criminal Ziggy Sobotka throughout The Wire season two.
He also played adult Eddie Kaspbrak in the horror anthology It, and had roles in HBO's Generation Kill, indie film Tangerine, and Black Phone 2.
Ransone was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and throughout his career openly documented his struggles with heroin addiction.
James Ransone as Ziggy Sobotka in The Wire. (Supplied: HBO)
In a 2016 interview, he said he wrestled "with the catharsis of acting" due to the roles he leaned towards.
"I don't end up playing a lot of likable characters, so I find myself living in a lot of unlikable skin," he said.
"As a result of that, I don't always feel good."
He also credited the Iraq war-based miniseries Generation Kill — which kickstarted the career of co-star Alexander Skarsgård — as a "highlight" of his life.
"I remember going to Africa and I was going to be there for almost a year," he said.
"I was number two on the call sheet and I was like, 'I think somebody made a mistake. This is too much responsibility for me.'"
One of James Ransone's later roles was in CBS's show SEAL team. (Getty Images: Erik Voake/CBS)
Instead, he found his time as Corporal Josh Ray Person helped him connect to his father, who was a Vietnam War veteran.
"A lot of things started to make sense to me in a different way," he said.
"It didn't do so much for my career but it shaped me and the way that I think about my life."
In March 2021, Ransone also alleged on Instagram that he had been sexually abused when he was about 13.
The actor reportedly filed the allegations with police but the Baltimore County State's Attorney Office did not make any charges, according to The Baltimore Sun.