Lance Reddick, TV star known for ‘The Wire’ and ‘Fringe,’ dies at 60

Lance Reddick, who was known for his roles on television series “The Wire,” “Fringe” and “Bosch,” has died.

Reddick’s legal representative James E. Hornstein confirmed to The Times on Friday that the actor died Friday morning at his home in Los Angeles of natural causes. He was 60.

“Lance will be greatly missed,” Mia Hansen, Reddick’s publicist, said in a statement shared with The Times. “Please respect his family’s privacy at this time.”

“I can’t take it no more. Rip Lance Reddick,” Questlove wrote on social media.

“Lance Reddick gone. Damn,” tweeted Black List founder Franklin Leonard.

Reddick, born on June 7, 1962, grew up in Baltimore where he attended the Peabody Conservatory to study music. Once an aspiring musician, he studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., and then pursued acting at Yale where he graduated in 1994.

He landed his first acting role in the TV series “New York Undercover” in 1996, according to IMDb. That led to several minor parts in other series and films, including 1998’s “Great Expectations” and “The West Wing.”

In 2000, he appeared as prisoner Desmond Mobay, who was actually a tortured undercover police officer, in “Oz,” and the TV work kept coming. In the early aughts, he took on various roles in the “Law & Order” franchise and in 2002, he debuted as Lt. Cedric Daniels in HBO’s “The Wire.”

Lance Reddick at a Los Angeles screening of “John Wick” in 2014.

(Richard Shotwell / Invision / Associated Press)

“He was a real challenge,” Reddick told The Times in 2009. “I kept him tight — he was very self-contained and analytical, but he also had a lot of rage.”

Reddick starred as Cedric Daniels until the series came to a close in 2008. The “Wire” series finale, however, brought Reddick to Fox’s “Fringe,” where he starred as federal agent Phillip Broyles alongside Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson and John Noble.

During the series’ run, from 2008 to 2013, Reddick also took up roles in a range of projects including a spot in ABC’s “Lost” and the video game “Payday 2.” And in 2014, he lent his voice to the “Destiny” game franchise.

That same year, Reddick debuted as Charon in “John Wick,” the beginning of the action franchise starring Keanu Reeves. He reprised the role in the following installments, including the upcoming “John Wick: Chapter 4.”

Reddick also starred in the Amazon series “Bosch” as Irvin Irving. In the series, which ended in 2021, Redding appeared opposite Titus Welliver, Jamie Hector and Amy Aquino.

In recent years, Reddick lent his voice to video game sequels “Horizon Forbidden West” and “Destiny 2,” and starred in Netflix’s series adaptation of “Resident Evil.”

Reddick was set for several upcoming projects before his death, including the “John Wick” spin-off “Ballerina” and the Disney+ series adaptation of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.”

In a conversation with The Times, Reddick said he didn’t take his career “for granted.”

“It makes me evaluate more what’s really important in life, and it makes me work harder. You either get better, or you don’t progress,” he told The Times.

He is survived by his wife Stephanie Reddick, whom he married in 2011, and children Yvonne Nicole Reddick and Christopher Reddick. Donations in his memory can be made to momcares.org in Baltimore.