# James Ransone
**James Ransone** (James Finley Ransone III; born 1979) was an American character actor from Baltimore, Maryland, best known for playing [Ziggy Sobotka](https://www.edgepedia.org/ziggy-sobotka) in the second season of HBO's crime drama *The Wire* and the adult Eddie Kaspbrak in the horror film *It Chapter Two* (2019). He died by suicide on December 19, 2025, in Los Angeles at the age of 46, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's office.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/967a2c37a1e93602570a112396452523)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and origin | James Finley Ransone III, born 1979 in Baltimore, Maryland; known to friends as PJ[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) |
| Breakthrough role | Ziggy Sobotka, the loose-cannon son of a stevedore, in season two of *The Wire* (2003)[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) |
| HBO collaborations | Cpl. Josh Ray Person in *Generation Kill* (2008); a chef in 10 episodes of *Treme* (2010–13)[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) |
| Highest-grossing film | *It Chapter Two* (2019), as the adult Eddie Kaspbrak; box-office gross of more than $450 million[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) |
| Horror work | The Deputy in *Sinister* (2012) and *Sinister 2* (2015); Max, brother of the child-killer the Grabber, in *The Black Phone* (2022) and *Black Phone 2* (2025)[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) |
| Award | Robert Altman Award, 2013 Independent Spirit Awards, shared with the cast and makers of *Starlet*[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0710447/awards/) |
| Death | December 19, 2025, by suicide, in Los Angeles, aged 46[2](https://apnews.com/article/967a2c37a1e93602570a112396452523) |
| Survivors | Wife Jamie McPhee (married 2017) and children Jack and Violet[4](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/james-ransones-finances-assets-for-wife-and-kids-revealed-after-death/) |
## Early life and training
Ransone was born in Baltimore to Joyce (née Petersen) and James Finley Ransone II, and was known throughout his life to friends as PJ, a name he used to distinguish personal callers from official ones.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) After a spell at a traditional high school proved unproductive, he auditioned successfully for the George Washington Carver Centre for Arts and Technology in [Towson, Maryland](https://www.edgepedia.org/towson-maryland), where he specialized first in theater and then in fine art.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) He briefly studied film at the [School of Visual Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/school-of-visual-arts) in New York in 1997 but was expelled for non-attendance, then worked taking photographs for the photographer Patrick McMullan for *Interview* magazine before quitting as acting jobs arrived.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary)
He credited Baltimore itself with shaping his sensibility. "Baltimore breeds a really specific type of weirdo," he told *Interview* Magazine, citing the band [Animal Collective](https://www.edgepedia.org/animal-collective), Dan Deacon, and [John Waters](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-waters) as part of "a through line of weirdness and a hard edge" he saw in people from the area.[5](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/actor-james-ransone-dies-at-46/)
## The Wire and David Simon collaborations
Ransone made his name in season two of *The Wire*, David Simon's Baltimore-set crime drama, playing Ziggy Sobotka, the volatile son of a stevedore whose schemes in drug dealing and car theft end in disaster and who ultimately commits murder and waits, defeated, for the police.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) Ransone was 22 at the time and a Baltimore native himself.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) The show's slow-burn reputation meant recognition came late: "There was a six-year delay from when I shot it to when the show went into the zeitgeist," he recalled in 2016.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary)
Simon cast him repeatedly. Ransone played the garrulous Marine corporal Josh Ray Person in Simon's *Generation Kill* (2008), set during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and a chef in 10 episodes of *Treme* (2010–13), set in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. "James is made for an absurdist, comedic rant in whatever universe we place him," Simon said. "But then, he can turn on a dime and break your heart."[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) It was during the seven-month *Generation Kill* shoot in Africa that Ransone said he realized, "Oh my god, I am an actor!"[6](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/james-ransone)
## Horror films and independent cinema
Ransone became a familiar face in modern horror. He played law-enforcement roles in *Prom Night* (2008), *Sinister* (2012), and *Sinister 2* (2015), a campus groundskeeper murdered by a cult in *Kristy* (2014), and Max, brother of the serial child killer known as the Grabber, in *The Black Phone* (2022) and *[Black Phone 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/black-phone-2)* (2025).[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) Director Scott Derrickson, who cast him in five films including both *Sinister* entries and both *[Black Phone](https://www.edgepedia.org/black-phone-film-series)* films, remembered him after his death as "a complex, funny, talented and undeniably reckless person."[7](https://www.thewrap.com/culture-lifestyle/culture/scott-derrickson-james-ransone-tribute-after-oscars-in-memoriam-omission/)
His most commercially successful film was *It Chapter Two* (2019), in which he played the adult Eddie Kaspbrak in the two-part adaptation of [Stephen King](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-king)'s novel; the film grossed more than $450 million.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) He was part of an ensemble that also included [James McAvoy](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-mcavoy), Jessica Chastain, and [Bill Hader](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-hader).[8](https://anthemmagazine.com/qa-with-james-ransone/)
He also worked with independent auteurs. In Sean Baker's *Tangerine* (2015), shot entirely on an iPhone in Los Angeles, he played a pimp whose infidelity sets the plot in motion; he had played a porn actor in Baker's earlier *Starlet* (2012), which won the ensemble the Robert Altman Award at the 2013 [Independent Spirit Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/independent-spirit-awards).[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0710447/awards/) For John Waters he played Dingy Dave in the sex comedy *A Dirty Shame* (2004), and he appeared in [Spike Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/spike-lee)'s *Inside Man* (2006) and *Red Hook Summer*, as well as [Steven Soderbergh](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-soderbergh)'s television thriller *Mosaic* (2018) and Rian Johnson's *Poker Face* (2025).[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) "Show me an artist who has a distinct vision and I'll fall in line like a soldier every time," he said.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary)
## Personal life
Ransone spoke openly about addiction and abuse. In 2016 he told *Interview* Magazine that he had gotten sober at age 27 after five years on heroin; he had been clean since attending rehab in 2006, and at the time of quitting he had also been contemplating killing himself.[9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2025-12-21/james-ransone-dead-star-of-the-wire-it-chapter-two-was-46) • [1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) In 2021 he posted on social media a letter he had sent to a former teacher whom he accused of sexually abusing him when he was 12; the allegation was reported to [Baltimore County](https://www.edgepedia.org/baltimore-county) police, but no charges were brought. He said he came forward so that children would not be exposed to the alleged abuser.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) • [10](https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-wire-star-james-ransones-heroic-deed-revealed-days-after-tragic-death/)
A separate episode surfaced after his death: a woman wrote that Ransone had heard her screams and intervened to stop an attempted assault in New York.[10](https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-wire-star-james-ransones-heroic-deed-revealed-days-after-tragic-death/)
He married Jamie McPhee in 2017; their children Jack and Violet were born in 2019 and 2021.[4](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/james-ransones-finances-assets-for-wife-and-kids-revealed-after-death/)
## Death and tributes
Ransone died by suicide on December 19, 2025, in Los Angeles, aged 46; the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's office confirmed the cause, and a death certificate obtained by *People* confirmed it in January 2026.[2](https://apnews.com/article/967a2c37a1e93602570a112396452523) • [11](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/the-wire-actors-cause-of-death-revealed/) *The Wire* creator [David Simon](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-simon) called the death "grievous and awful" in a statement to the Baltimore Banner.[9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2025-12-21/james-ransone-dead-star-of-the-wire-it-chapter-two-was-46) Spike Lee, Natasha Lyonne, and his *Black Phone* co-stars were among those who paid tribute.[12](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/celebrities-react-to-james-ransones-death-at-46-spike-lee-and-more/)
His final credited role was in season two of *Poker Face*, which aired in 2025, followed by a brief appearance in *Black Phone 2*.[11](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/the-wire-actors-cause-of-death-revealed/) • [1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary) He was omitted from the In Memoriam segments at both the 2026 Emmy and Academy Award ceremonies, a decision his wife publicly criticized and which Derrickson answered with a tribute: "The Oscars In Memoriam ignored him, but I cannot. He was my friend. I put him in five films."[7](https://www.thewrap.com/culture-lifestyle/culture/scott-derrickson-james-ransone-tribute-after-oscars-in-memoriam-omission/)
## References
1. [James Ransone obituary, The Guardian (December 24, 2025)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/24/james-ransone-obituary)
2. [Actor James Ransone, known for his role in 'The Wire,' dead at 46, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/967a2c37a1e93602570a112396452523)
3. [James Ransone Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0710447/awards/)
4. [James Ransone's Finances and Assets for Wife Jamie McPhee and 2 Kids Revealed, Us Weekly](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/james-ransones-finances-assets-for-wife-and-kids-revealed-after-death/)
5. [Actor James Ransone, known for his roles in "The Wire" and "It: Chapter Two," dies at 46, CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/actor-james-ransone-dies-at-46/)
6. [Baltimore's Son, Interview Magazine (2016)](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/james-ransone)
7. [Scott Derrickson Honors James Ransone After Oscars In Memoriam Omission, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/culture-lifestyle/culture/scott-derrickson-james-ransone-tribute-after-oscars-in-memoriam-omission/)
8. [Q&A with James Ransone, Anthem Magazine (2019)](https://anthemmagazine.com/qa-with-james-ransone/)
9. [James Ransone, star of 'The Wire' and 'It: Chapter Two,' dies at 46, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2025-12-21/james-ransone-dead-star-of-the-wire-it-chapter-two-was-46)
10. ['The Wire' Star's Heroic Deed Revealed Days After Tragic Death, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-wire-star-james-ransones-heroic-deed-revealed-days-after-tragic-death/)
11. ['The Wire' Star's Cause of Death Revealed, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/the-wire-actors-cause-of-death-revealed/)
12. [Celebrities React to Actor James Ransone's Death at 46, Us Weekly](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/celebrities-react-to-james-ransones-death-at-46-spike-lee-and-more/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames R to Ri*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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