Lance Reddick

American actor (1962–2023)

Lance Solomon Reddick (June 7, 1962 – March 17, 2023) the son of Dorothy Gee and Solomon Reddick. He attended Friends School of Baltimore. As a teenager, he studied music at the Peabody Preparatory Institute, and a summer program teaching music theory and composition at the Walden School. Reddick studied classical music composition at University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music, earning a Bachelor of Music degree. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts, in the 1980s. Reddick attended the Yale School of Drama in the early 1990s, receiving a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1994.

Reddick was cast as Cedric Daniels in the HBO series The Wire, having auditioned also for the roles of Bubbles and Bunk Moreland. He joined ABC's series Lost in 2008, where he played Matthew Abaddon, an employee of Charles Widmore, in multiple episodes. in which his fellow Oz actor, Kirk Acevedo, also had a regular role. Reddick played Phillip Broyles, the head of an FBI department investigating paranormal activities. Reddick described this character as "a real hard ass, but he's also one of the good guys." Like Lost, Fringe was co created and produced by J. J. Abrams. There was some doubt about whether Reddick could appear in both Lost and Fringe in the 20082009 television season. However, Abrams stated that, even though Reddick was a series regular on Fringe, he would do episodes of Lost whenever required. Reddick appeared in the 2013 thriller White House Down. He starred in the YouTube web series DR0NE, where he was also credited as a co producer. In 2014, Reddick appeared as Charon in the action thriller film John Wick, a role he reprised in its three sequels. In July 2021, it was confirmed that Reddick would reprise his role in John Wick: Chapter 4. He voiced the character Commander Zavala in the 2014, and 2017 video games Destiny and Destiny 2, respectively. Also in 2014, he started portraying Chief Irvin Irving in the Amazon Prime series Bosch. Comparing his three large roles as police commanders, Reddick said that Daniels, his character from The Wire, is "a cop at heart", while Broyles, his Fringe character, is "a soldier", and Irving "is the quintessential politician". Reddick was a spokesman in television commercials for Cree LED Bulbs. In 2016, Reddick was cast in the post apocalyptic horror film The Domestics. The film was released on June 28, 2018. Reddick later starred in the 2018 horror thriller film Monster Party. He also voiced the character Sylens in the 2017 video game Horizon Zero Dawn and reprised his role in the sequel Horizon Forbidden West. In 2021, Reddick appeared in the film Godzilla vs. Kong. In 2022, Reddick portrayed Albert Wesker and his clones Al, Bert, and Alby Wesker in the live action Resident Evil Netflix series, which was cancelled after one season. He also provided the voice of Hellboy in the video game Hellboy: Web of Wyrd. The game was released following his death but he had completed the role. He appeared posthumously as the Greek god Zeus in the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Disney+ adaptation of the book series of the same name.

Reddick died as a result of Coronary Artery Disease/Atherosclerotic Heart Disease on March 17, 2023, aged 60, at his home in Studio City, Los Angeles. Tributes were paid by colleagues and friends, including Reddick's The Wire co stars Wendell Pierce and Isiah Whitlock Jr., as well as series creator David Simon. He is survived by his widow Stephanie and his two children Christopher and Yvonne Reddick. Reddick's John Wick co stars Keanu Reeves and Ian McShane also paid tribute to him, as did his Horizon co star Ashly Burch and others from the video game industry. Thousands of players in the games Destiny and Destiny 2 visited Reddick's character, Commander Zavala, standing vigil or using in game emotes to salute him. Reddick's family asked fans to give to MOMCares, a Baltimore nonprofit supporting underserved mothers with babies in neonatal intensive care. The organization received $12,000 in donations, the most it has received in a single day.

In January 2024, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films announced that it had established the Lance Reddick Legacy Award for the Saturn Awards ceremony in honor of Reddick's contributions to the film industry. For the recipient, the award "symbolizes and celebrates not only a performer's talent, but their character; someone who's a true goodwill ambassador in the industry." The first inaugural winner of the award, given at the 51st Saturn Awards, was Reddick's John Wick: Chapter 4 co star, Keanu Reeves. The first season finale of the Disney+ TV series Percy Jackson and The Olympians was dedicated to Reddick's memory. He played the character Zeus in one of his final posthumously released television roles. Show co creator Rick Riordan remarked on working with Reddick, "He had a marvelous and quirky sense of humor. He was thoughtful, caring and piercingly perceptive." He stated that he hoped Reddick's scenes would "remind us of how much brilliance we have lost."

Year Title Role Notes 1998 Great Expectations Anton Le Farge 1998 Godzilla Soldier on Manhattan Bridge Uncredited 1998 The Siege FBI Agent Floyd Rose 2000 I Dreamed of Africa Simon 2001 Don't Say a Word Arnie 2004 Brother to Brother James Baldwin 2006 Dirty Work Derek Manning 2008 Tennessee Frank 2009 The Way of War The Black Man 2010 Jonah Hex Smith 2011 Remains Ramsey 2012 Won't Back Down Charles Alberts 2013 White House Down General Caulfield 2014 Faults Mick 2014 The Guest Major Carver 2014 Search Party Macdonaldson 2014 John Wick Charon 2015 Parallel Man: Infinite Pursuit Atlas (voice) Short film 2015 Fun Size Horror Oscar Short film; segment: "The Collection" 2017 John Wick: Chapter 2 Charon 2018 Canal Street Jerry Shaw 2018 Monster Party Milo 2020 Faith Based Pastor Mike 2020 Sylvie's Love Herbert "Mr. Jay" Johnson 2020 One Night in Miami Brother Kareem 2021 Godzilla vs. Kong Guillerman 2023 The Caine Mutiny Court Martial Captain Luther Blakely 2024 Shirley Wesley MacDonald "Mac" Holder 2025 Charon Posthumous release; post production 1997 The Nanny Stage Hand Episode: "Fair Weather Fran" 1997 What the Deaf Man Heard George Thacker Television film 1998 The Fixer Tyrell Holmes Television film 1998 Witness to the Mob Foreman Trial #2 Television film 1999 The West Wing DC Police Officer Episode: "In Excelsis Deo" 2000 The Corner Marvin Mini series 2000–2001 Oz Johnny Basil Recurring role 2002–2008 The Wire Cedric Daniels Main role 2003 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Jack Bernard Episode: "Probability" 2005–2006 CSI: Miami FBI Agent David Park 3 episodes 2007 Numb3rs Lieutenant Steve Davidson Episode: "End of Watch" 2008–2009 Lost Matthew Abaddon 4 episodes 2011 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Reggie Episode: "Frank's Brother" 2012 The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes Falcon (voice) 2 episodes 2012–2013 Tron: Uprising Cutler (voice) 3 episodes 2013 NTSF:SD:SUV:: Todd Broger Episode: "TGI Murder" 2013 Comedy Bang! Bang! Angelfire Episode: "Andy Samberg Wears A Plaid Shirt And Glasses" 2014 Beware the Batman Ra's al Ghul (voice) 3 episodes 2014 American Horror Story: Coven Papa Legba 3 episodes 2014 The Blacklist The Cowboy 2 episodes 2014 Key & Peele Johnson Family Member Episode: "Gay Wedding Advice" 2014–2021 Bosch Deputy Chief Irvin Irving Main role 2015 Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories Joseph Zagen Episode: "Tornado" 2016 Mary + Jane David Episode: "Rehab" 2017 Rick and Morty Alan Rails (voice) Episode: "Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender" 2020 Through the Eye of the Needle Narrator Dust short story special episode 2021 America's Book of Secrets Narrator Main role (season 4) 2021 Young Sheldon Professor Boucher Episode: "An Introduction to Engineering and a Glob of Hair Gel" 2022 Resident Evil Albert Wesker / Al Wesker / Bert Wesker / Alby Wesker Main role 2023 The Legend of Vox Machina Thordak (voice) Recurring role (season 2) 2023 Invincible Steven Erickson (voice) Episode: "Atom Eve"; posthumous release 2023 Bosch: Legacy Irvin Irving Episode: "A Step Ahead"; posthumous release 2024 Percy Jackson and the Olympians Zeus Episode: "The Prophecy Comes True"; posthumous release 2024 Lex Luthor (voice) Posthumous release; post production