Lance Reddick, who appeared in major TV series like HBO’s “The Wire,” Fox’s “Fringe” and films like the “John Wick” franchise, which is about to debut “John Wick: Chapter 4” next week, died of natural causes Friday morning, Variety has confirmed with his reps. He was 60.
In the upcoming “John Wick: Chapter 4,” which is set to release in theaters on March 24, Reddick reprises his role as Charon, the concierge at the Continental Hotel in New York City who appeared in all four entries. Charon worked alongside Keanu Reeve’s un-retired hitman, notably looking after John’s new dog in the second installment and joining in on the gun-toting action in the third movie. Reddick was also slated to appear in the upcoming “Ballerina” spinoff, starring Ana de Armas.
Reddick’s first major TV role came on Season 4 of HBO’s prison drama “Oz” in 2000. He played Detective Johnny Basil, an undercover officer who tries to shut down the drug trade but soon becomes an addict himself and murders a corrupt cop by pushing him down an elevator shaft. After being sent to Oz, Basil gets stabbed to death by Seth Gilliam’s character Clayton Hughes.
HBO kept Reddick around and later cast him as Baltimore police lieutenant Cedric Daniels, one of the leads, on “The Wire” in 2002. He was in charge of the narcotics division and slowly rose through its ranks during the show’s five-season run, butting heads frequently with his superiors. In the show’s finale, he resigned from his post as commissioner and became a criminal defense lawyer.
After “The Wire” ended in 2008, Reddick joined “Fringe” later that year as Phillip Broyles, a special agent for Homeland Security and head of the Fringe division. The group investigated cases relating to fringe science, pseudoscience and alternate timelines.
Reddick is survived by his wife, Stephanie Reddick, and children, Yvonne Nicole Reddick and Christopher Reddick. Donations in his memory can be made to momcares.org in Baltimore, his hometown.