James Ransone, the actor best known for playing Ziggy Sobotka on HBOâs âThe Wire,â has tragically passed away. The beloved ‘IT’ star was 46. TMZ reported that Ransone died Friday in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. His death was ruled a suicide.
The Family James Ransone Leaves Behind
Ransone is survived by his wife, Jamie McPhee, and their two children. The actor kept his family life intensely private, rarely speaking publicly about his marriage or fatherhood.
The New York Post reported that following his death, McPhee added a fundraiser for the National Alliance on Mental Illness to her social media profile, drawing attention to mental health advocacy in the days after his passing.
Public details about their children remain limited, a choice the couple maintained for years to protect their family from unwanted attention.
Ransone was also close with his parents, James Finley Ransone II and Joyce Ransone. He had no publicly known siblings.
A Career Shaped by Grit, Vulnerability, and HBO Roles
Ransone rose to prominence as Ziggy Sobotka, the troubled son of dock worker Frank Sobotka, portrayed by Chris Bauer, in the second season of âThe Wire.â He appeared in 12 episodes during the showâs 2003 run.
âThe Wire,â which aired from 2002 to 2008, starred Dominic West, Michael Kenneth Williams, John Doman, Idris Elba, Wood Harris, Lance Reddick, Wendell Pierce, Frankie Faison, and Lawrence Gilliard Jr.
Ransone became a familiar face on HBO, later appearing in âGeneration Killâ and âTreme.â He also had roles in âBosch.â His final television appearance came in a Season 2 episode of âPoker Faceâ that aired in June.
In film, Ransone appeared in âProm Night,â âSinister,â âSinister 2,â âTangerine,â âMr. Right,â âIt Chapter Two,â âThe Black Phone,â and âBlack Phone 2,â which was released in 2025.
Speaking Openly About Addiction and Survival
Ransone was candid about his struggles with addiction.
In a 2016 Interview Magazine profile, he shared that he got sober at age 27 after years of heroin use.
âPeople think I got sober working on the âGeneration Kill.â I didnât. I sobered up six or seven months before that,â he said.
âI remember going to Africa and I was going to be there for almost a year. I was number two on the call sheet and I was like, âI think somebody made a mistake. This is too much responsibility for me.ââ
In 2021, Ransone publicly disclosed that he was a survivor of sexual abuse, as reported by the Baltimore Sun.
As per Page Six, he alleged that his former tutor, Timothy Rualo, sexually abused him multiple times at his childhood home in Phoenix, Maryland, over the course of six months in 1992.
Ransone made the allegation public by sharing a lengthy note on Instagram addressed to the man he accused.
James Ransone built a career portraying complicated, often wounded characters. In his own life, he spoke openly about pain, recovery, and survival, while protecting the privacy of the family he cherished most.
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