Update: Following the publishing of this initial article, Lance Reddick's family and legal representation reached out to dispute the report. The article has been updated to reflect this.
On March 17, John Wick and The Wire actor Lance Reddick suddenly died at the age of 60. His passing came just one week before his fourth outing as The Continental concierge Charon in John Wick: Chapter 4, and in the midst of doing press for the 2023 new movie release. Nearly a month later, his cause of death has reportedly been revealed.
Per the late actor’s death certificate, which was acquired by TMZ, Reddick’s immediate cause of death was revealed to be from Ischemic heart disease, as well as Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. This confirmed the initial belief from authorities that he died from natural causes when he was found. This latest report also mentioned that his body was to be cremated.
Following the release of the alleged report, the lawyer who represented the actor during his lifetime, James Hornstein, spoke out. In a longer statement indicating that Reddick was "the most physically fit person I've ever known" at the time of his death and also indicating the results were "not a result of an autopsy," Hornstein said in a statement (via EW):
The information appearing on the death certificate is wholly inconsistent with his lifestyle. On behalf of [Lance's wife] Stephanie Reddick, the death certificate information is not corroborated and is inconsistent with the facts known to the family.
Lance Reddick was found by his wife, Stephanie, collapsed in the backyard of their home in Studio City on the morning of March 17, and she promptly dialed 911. A day later, Stephanie posted about her husband’s death on Instagram, saying that he was “taken from us far too soon” and thanked everyone “for all your overwhelming love, support and beautiful stories” that had been shared about him. Among the people who paid tribute to Reddick after his passing was Keanu Reeves, who, of course, leads the John Wick franchise as the title character. He also spoke about his late co-star at the Los Angeles premiere of Chapter 4.
Along with his time as Charon and Cedric Daniels from The Wire, Lance Reddick’s other major characters included Phillip Broyles from Fringe, Matthew Abaddon from Lost, Deputy Chief Irvin Irving from Bosch, Albert Wesker from Netflix’s short-lived Resident Evil series and Secret Service Director David Gentry in Angel Has Fallen. A few years earlier, he also made a brief appearance in Godzilla vs. Kong. As mentioned previously, Reddick spent the immediate days before his death promoting John Wick: Chapter 4, which included going on Kelly Clarkson’s talk show to talk about his character and sharing how he responded to the surprise involving Charon in this latest installment.
Although the actor is no longer with us, we will be seeing him a few more times onscreen posthumously. This June, he’ll appear as Benji Allen in the White Men Can’t Jump remake, which will be accessible to watch with a Hulu subscription. He’ll also play Charon one last time in the John Wick spinoff Ballerina, which is now dated for release on June 7, 2024. Reddick’s other final movies include Shirley and The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, and Disney+ subscribers will get to see him next year playing Zeus in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
We here at CinemaBlend continue to offer our sympathy to Lance Reddick’s family and friends for their loss. He was a talent who left us too soon.
