Actor Lance Reddick of “The Wire” and “John Wick,” passes away at 60
Lance Reddick, a musician and actor best known for his work on “The Wire” and the “John Wick” film series, has passed away. He had reached age 60. His spokesperson, Mia Hansen, reported that he died naturally on Friday morning.
According to Mr. Reddick’s portrayer on “The Wire,” Wendell Pierce, Mr. Reddick was “a man of immense strength and grace.” The pinnacle of the class has gifted a musician as an actor, according to Mr. Pierce’s tweet.
Mr. Reddick, raised in Baltimore, has claimed that he always wanted to be a professional musician rather than an actor. He was a pianist who attended the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester to study classical composition. After moving to Boston, he battled to make ends meet for his small family. He remembers performing odd jobs like carrying newspapers and singing servers on dinner cruises during later interviews.
He dabbled in acting to get more work, but after getting parts in local theatre, he became serious about it. When he started working as a journeyman actor in New York in his early 30s, he was a student at the Yale School of Drama.
Mr. Reddick, raised in Baltimore, has claimed that he always wanted to be a professional musician rather than an actor. He was a pianist who attended the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester to study classical composition. After moving to Boston, he battled to make ends meet for his small family. He remembers performing odd jobs like carrying newspapers and singing servers on dinner cruises during later interviews.
He dabbled in acting to get more work, but after getting parts in local theatre, he became serious about it. When he started working as a journeyman actor in New York in his early 30s, he was a student at the Yale School of Drama.
He amassed minor parts in theatre productions, motion pictures, and television programs like the “Law & Order” series and the HBO prison drama “Oz.”
In the HBO series “The Wire,” which David Simon produced, he had his breakthrough performance. Because of its realistic storytelling and complex characters, many of whom were portrayed by Black actors, the show became a landmark in the TV business. Cedric Daniels, a steely and stern police supervisor in charge of a Baltimore cocaine investigation, was represented by Mr. Reddick.
After “The Wire,” one of Mr. Reddick’s most notable performances was in the “John Wick” action film starring Keanu Reeves. In the movies, Mr. Reddick portrayed Charon, a sophisticated and unflustered resort concierge that caters to assassins.
The 2014 original movie was an unexpected smash and the start of a franchise that has made $588 million at the box office. A week before the release of the fourth installment on March 24, Mr. Reddick passed away. He had been marketing the movie through interviews and outings. One of the anticipated spinoffs is a movie titled “Ballerina,” rumored to star Mr. Reddick’s persona.
Nonetheless, we will remember Lance as our charming, joyous friend and Concierge, according to Lions Gate, the production company behind the “John Wick” films. Lance leaves left an irreplaceable legacy and a highly amazing body of work.
“The Wire” boosted Mr. Reddick’s career,” which led to further opportunities to play police, military, and intelligence officers. Since he saw it as typecasting, Mr. Reddick first objected to being offered another role in “Bosch,” a streaming TV series based on Michael Connelly’s mystery books. “At first, I wasn’t going to do it. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 2019, he stated, “I didn’t want to portray another officer. But throughout seven seasons, his performance as Los Angeles Police Department Chief Irvin Irving became one of Mr. Reddick’s most known and enduring characters.
Other movies in which Mr. Reddick appeared were “Godzilla vs. Kong” and “One Night in Miami.” He expanded his acting career by appearing in comedy and videogames, such as “Horizon Zero Dawn” and its sequel. He didn’t stop making music; in his forties, he released “Contemplations & Remembrances,” a jazzy debut album of his original songs. The children, Yvonne Nicole Reddick, Christopher Reddick, and his wife Stephanie Reddick, survive Mr. Reddick.
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