Lance Reddick

Lance Solomon Reddick (June 7, 1962 – March 17, 2023) was an American actor and musician. He was known for his roles as Cedric Daniels in The Wire (2002–2008), Phillip Broyles in Fringe (2008–2013) and Chief Irvin Irving in Bosch (2014–2020). In film, he played Charon in the John Wick franchise (2014–2025) and General Caulfield in White House Down (2013).

He was also known for portraying Detective Johnny Basil in season 4 of Oz, Matthew Abaddon in Lost (2004–2010), Albert Wesker and his clones in the Netflix series Resident Evil (2022), and Zeus in Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2024), the latter of which was released posthumously. He provided the voice and likeness for video game characters Martin Hatch in Quantum Break, Sylens in Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West, and Commander Zavala in the Destiny franchise.

Early life
Lance Solomon Reddick was born in Baltimore, Maryland, 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.

Career
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. He was the third of five actors from the HBO series Oz to star in the drama. Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse were interested in Reddick for the part of Mr. Eko, but he was busy filming The Wire.

Reddick released his debut album Contemplations & Remembrances in 2007, and in early 2008, he was cast in a key role in the pilot of Fringe 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 2008–2009 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.

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.

Death
Reddick died as a result of coronary artery disease and 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 creator David Simon. 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.

Legacy
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."

Awards and nominations

 * Nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television, Fringe (2010)
 * Nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television, Fringe (2012)
 * Nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television, Bosch (2015)

Discography

 * 2007: Contemplations & Remembrances