Lance Reddick

Lance Solomon Reddick (June 7, 1962 – March 17, 2023) was an American actor. He portrayed 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.

He also portrayed Detective Johnny Basil in the fourth season 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 and earned him a Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Performer nomination. 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 on June 7, 1962, 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 Institute, and studied music theory and composition during a summer program 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 also auditioned 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. In 2019, Reddick portrayed the Secret Service director David Gentry in Angel Has Fallen. He also voiced the character Sylens in the 2017 video game Horizon Zero Dawn and reprised the 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. 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. The role of Zeus for the second season was later recast to Courtney B. Vance.

Death

Reddick died suddenly on March 17, 2023, aged 60, at his home in Studio City, Los Angeles, from what the coroner deemed to be coronary artery disease and atherosclerotic heart disease. 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. The end credits to video game Alan Wake 2 also include a tribute to Reddick.

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 day after his death, 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."

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1998 Great Expectations Anton Le Farge Godzilla Soldier on Manhattan Bridge Uncredited 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 (also released as Bad City) Derek Manning 2008 Tennessee Frank 2009 The Way of War The Black Man 2010 Jonah Hex Smith 2011 Remains Ramsey 2012 St. Sebastian Ives Unreleased Won't Back Down Charles Alberts 2013 White House Down General Caulfield 2014 Faults Mick The Guest Major Carver Search Party Macdonaldson John Wick Charon O'Connor 2015 Parallel Man: Infinite Pursuit Atlas (voice) Short film Fun Size Horror Oscar Short film; segment: "The Collection" 2017 John Wick: Chapter 2 Charon O'Connor Canal Street Jerry Shaw Monster Party Milo 2020 Faith Based Pastor Mike Sylvie's Love Herbert "Mr. Jay" Johnson One Night in Miami... Brother Kareem 2021 Godzilla vs. Kong Guillerman The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial Captain Luther Blakely 2024 Shirley Wesley MacDonald "Mac" Holder 2025 Ballerina Charon O'Connor Posthumous release; final film role 1997 The Nanny Stage Hand Episode: "Fair Weather Fran" What the Deaf Man Heard George Thacker Television film 1998 The Fixer Tyrell Holmes Television film 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 NTSF:SD:SUV:: Todd Broger Episode: "TGI Murder" Comedy Bang! Bang! Angelfire Episode: "Andy Samberg Wears A Plaid Shirt And Glasses" 2014 Beware the Batman Ra's al Ghul (voice) 3 episodes Intelligence DCI Jeffrey Tetazoo 5 episodes The Blacklist The Cowboy 2 episodes Key & Peele Johnson Family Member Episode: "Gay Wedding Advice" 2014–2018American Horror StoryPapa LegbaSeason 3 & Season 8, 4 episodes 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) 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 2023–2024 The Legend of Vox Machina Thordak (voice) Recurring role (season 2–3); posthumous release of season 3 2023 Invincible Steven Erickson (voice) Episode: "Atom Eve"; posthumous release 2024 Percy Jackson and the Olympians Zeus Episode: "The Prophecy Comes True"; posthumous release Kite Man: Hell Yeah! Lex Luthor (voice) Recurring role, 4 episodes; posthumous release

Video games Year Title Voice role Notes 2009 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand Derek Carter 2014 Destiny Commander Zavala 2015 Destiny: The Taken King 2016 Quantum Break Martin Hatch Also motion capture and full-motion video footage Destiny: Rise of Iron Commander Zavala 2017 Payday 2 Charon Horizon Zero Dawn Sylens 2020 Destiny 2: Beyond Light Commander Zavala 2023 Destiny 2: Lightfall Hellboy Web of Wyrd Hellboy Posthumous release

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. Christai Productions