James Ransone, The Wire and It: Chapter Two Actor, Dead at 46

James Ransone, who played Ziggy Sobotka on The Wire, has died. He was 46. The Los Angeles medical examiner ruled the death a suicide.

Ransone was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1979. He said he struggled before finding acting in high school. “I think it saved me as a kid,” he told Interview. “Going to arts school saved me.” He got his first film role in 2002, in the Larry Clark film Ken Park. The next year, he started appearing on The Wire. Ransone played Ziggy Sobotka, son of union boss Frank Sobotka.

In his mid-20s, Ransone started heavily drinking and using heroin. He got sober in 2007. “I woke up at 27 after being on heroin for five years,” he told Interview. “It was like I sobered up and I realized, ‘My job is being an actor. This is crazy!’” A few months later, he flew to Africa to star alongside Alexander Skarsgård in the Iraq War miniseries Generation Kill. In 2019, Ransone played the adult version of Eddie Kaspbrak in It: Chapter Two. Jack Dylan Grazer played the younger version of his character. Ransone also had roles in Sinister, Bosch, SEAL Team, and Sean Baker’s Tangerine. 

Spike Lee paid tribute to Ransone on Instagram. “Rest In Peace To My Dear Brother,” he wrote. “We Rocked Together On RED HOOK SUMMER And INSIDE MAN.” Heated Rivalry’s François Arnaud also paid tribute in Instagram Stories, calling Ransone a “unique actor I was continuously impressed and inspired by.” Ransone is survived by his wife, Jamie McPhee, and their two children.

If you or anyone you know are in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988.