James Ransone, most known for his roles in The Wire, It: Chapter Two and The Black Phone, died on Dec. 19. He was 46.
Ransone died by suicide, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
Born on June 2, 1979, in Baltimore, Ransone studied at the George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology before attending the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan for a year.
He earned his first onscreen credit in 2001’s The American Astronaut, but he scored his most notable role in The Wire in 2003. He played Chester “Ziggy” Sobotka in season two of the HBO drama, which centered on street-level drug dealing to the Port of Baltimore.
In 2019, Ransone starred as Eddie Kaspbrak in It: Chapter Two, alongside Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader and Bill Skarsgård. In the sequel, set 27 years after the first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club had grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back.
Ransone also played Max in 2021’s The Black Phone and 2025’s Black Phone 2, starring Mason Thames and Ethan Hawke. The first installment centered on a 13-year-old boy who’s being held in a soundproof basement by a sadistic, masked killer. When a disconnected phone on the wall starts to ring, he soon discovers that he can hear the voices of the murderer’s previous victims.
He also appeared in Anora director Sean Baker’s 2015 breakout film Tangerine, playing Chester, the shady boyfriend and pimp of a trans sex worker.
Among Ransone’s dozens of other acting credits were Poker Face, SEAL Team, Deadwax, The First, Mosaic, It Happened In L.A., Bosch, Sinister 2, Oldboy, Low Winter Sun, Empire State, Treme, Sinister, How to Make It in America, Hawaii Five-0, Generation Kill, Law & Order, Nola and Third Watch.
