James Ransone, the lead actor in ‘The Wire’ and ‘It: Chapter Two’, dies at 46

James Ransone, an actor known as the star of ‘The Wire,’ is dead at 46. According to various news reports, including TMZ, actor James Ransone, who has appeared in several seasons of the HBO show The Wire, including season two, as the character of Ziggy Sobotka, has died aged 46. Tangerine, Mr Right, Sinister, Sinister 2, The Black Phone, Black Phone 2, It Chapter Two and Prom Night were some of his film credits. 

Records provided by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner affirmed that James Ransone committed suicide, a fact that was published by the New York Post. Ransone, the husband of the Post,  Jamie McPhee, wrote on her social media page about fundraising with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) around the same time that he died. Ransone is left with a wife and two children.

Ransone revealed that a past tutor employed by the public school systems in Maryland sexually abused him as a child, which resulted in a lifetime of shame and embarrassment, and was a contributing factor to his substance abuse problems. He shared the accusations on Instagram, where he posted a long note, which he had sent to his alleged abuser, the Banner reported. The allegations later led to a police investigation, which was later closed without any charges.

He reported that the trauma helped him become an alcoholic and a heroin addict, and he had tried to commit suicide several times. Ransone claimed that he had gotten sober in 2006. Page Six says that Ransone filed a police report about the abuse in 2029, but the police did not press charges.

Ransone was also struggling with money problems despite the initial success in his acting career. Ransone was said to be indebted by $30000 at the age of 27, according to Soap Central.

Ransone came to the limelight through his work as a dockworker in The Wire, which aired between the years 2002 and 2008. In 2003, he featured in 12 episodes as the troubled son of Frank Sobotka, played by Chris Bauer. He was later featured in other HBO series, such as Generation Kill and Treme. Ransone also appeared on Amazon Prime Video in Bosch and made five appearances on SEAL Team. 

In a release issued to the Baltimore Banner news site, “Wire” creator David Simon said the death of Ransone was a painful and horrible one. “He committed not only to the work but to the camaraderie that turns every good film production into something familial and caring,” said the statement by Simon, who also cast Ransone in “Generation Kill” and “Treme.”