US Actor James Ransone Dies Aged 46
US actor known for roles in ‘The Wire’ and ‘It: Chapter Two’ James Ransone has died by suicide, aged 46.
His death on Friday was confirmed by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. James Ransone is survived by his wife Jamie McPhee and their two children.
Ransone played Ziggy Sobotka in season two of HBO’s critically acclaimed series ‘The Wire’ and appeared in ‘Generation Kill’, ‘Treme’ and ‘Bosch’ among other shows.
His film career included starring roles in ‘Prom Night’, ‘Sinister’, ‘Sinister 2’, ‘Tangerine’, ‘Mr. Right’, ‘It: Chapter Two’, ‘The Black Phone’ and ‘Black Phone 2’.
Ransone had struggled with mental health and substance abuse issues throughout his life, documenting his heroin addiction and alcoholism before getting sober in 2006.
In 2021, Ransone revealed he had been sexually abused when he was 12 years old, posting a lengthy statement to his alleged abuser on Instagram. He described “a lifetime of shame and embarrassment” that led to him becoming an alcoholic and heroin addict.
Although he reported the accusation to Baltimore County police in 2020, he was informed they had no interest in pursuing the matter, and no charges were brought by the Baltimore County Attorney Office.
In previous interviews, Ransone had credited his role in ‘Generation Kill’ as the catalyst to get sober.
“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.’”
In ‘Generation Kill’, a mini-series based on the Iraq war, Ransone co-starred alongside Alexdander Skarsgard, the brother of Bill Skarsgard who plays Pennywise in the ‘It’ films and ‘Welcome To Derry’ television series. In ‘It: Chapter Two’, Ransone played the adult Eddie Kaspbrak, a member of ‘the Losers’ Club’ that is pursued by Pennywise in a terrifying portrayal by Bill Skarsgard.
But no film horror could compare to his experiences as a sexual abuse survivor and addict. James Ransone faced his demons and got clean, but he never got justice.
