Lance Reddick, prolific actor and voice talent, dies at 60

The actor left his mark on both games and the silver screen

Lance Reddick, the actor who garnered much acclaim for his roles in The Wire and John Wick as well as his work in games, has died at age 60.

TMZ reported the news earlier today, with its sources saying it appears to be of natural causes. Reddick’s representative at Portrait PR confirmed the news to Deadline, declining to offer further details.

Reddick studied music at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, and earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Yale School of Drama. He first started acting in 1996, taking on a number of TV roles and series appearances, as well as hitting the big screen in films like Great Expectations. His portrayal of Cedric Daniels in The Wire was, frankly, incredible. From there, he starred in many more projects, including Fringe, John Wick, the live-action Resident Evil series, and more.

Reddick was also quite a prolific actor in the gaming space. He played major roles in the Horizon series, as well as in games like Quantum Break and 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand.

But for Destiny 2, Reddick voiced Commander Zavala, the Titan leader of the Vanguard and arguably the cornerstone for both The Tower and the Guardians. He would often take to social media and other platforms to share messages with Destiny fans. As you can see in the tweet below, Guardians have already started to gather at the Tower around Zavala’s avatar, forming impromptu memorials.

The tower right now. pic.twitter.com/DL2nkbpnu4

— Tim Clark (@timothydclark) March 17, 2023

It’s hard to put into words what Reddick brought to media, be it film, television, or games. There’s a clear love and enthusiasm that comes across in all of his appearances, and a genuine kindness in his off-camera persona. He’s truly someone I can say brought everything to every role, in a way that elevated so much of whatever he was in, whether it was as Wesker, Daniels, Charon or anyone else, even appearances on shows like Eric Andre’s. Both his on-screen work and the notes about him being shared today speak volumes.

There is still some unreleased work due to arrive, including his role as Zeus in the upcoming Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians.