'The Wire' Star James Ransone Dead at 46: Tragic Death Shocks Fans After the Ziggy Sobotka Actor Dies by Suicide Following Years of Personal Struggles
James Ransone, best known for playing Ziggy Sobotka on HBO’s The Wire, has died at age 46.
Dec. 21 2025, Published 3:37 p.m. ET
Actor James Ransone, best known for his role as troubled dock worker Ziggy Sobotka on HBO's The Wire, has died at the age of 46, RadarOnline.com can report.
Ransone died by suicide on Friday, December 19, in Los Angeles, according to records from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. His cause of death was listed as "hanging", and his place of death was noted as a "shed". The medical examiner's office stated that his body was ready for release.
James Ransone's Career
Ransone died by suicide Friday in Los Angeles.
Ransone was a married father of two. Following his death, his wife, Jamie McPhee, shared a fundraiser benefiting the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) on her social media profile.
Ransone appeared in 12 episodes of The Wire during its second season in 2003, portraying Ziggy Sobotka, the son of union leader Frank Sobotka, played by Chris Bauer.
Beyond The Wire, Ransone became a frequent presence in television dramas, appearing in HBO’s Generation Kill and Treme, as well as Amazon’s Bosch. His final television appearance came earlier this year in a Season 2 episode of Poker Face, which aired in June.
In film, Ransone built a lengthy résumé that included roles in Prom Night (2008), Sinister (2012), Sinister 2 (2015), Tangerine (2015), Mr. Right (2015), It Chapter Two (2019), The Black Phone (2021) and Black Phone 2 (2025).
History of Abuse
Ransone also appeared in HBO’s 'Generation Kill and 'Treme' and Amazon’s 'Bosch'.
In 2021, Ransone publicly shared that he was a survivor of sexual abuse. He accused his former tutor, Timothy Rualo, of sexually abusing him numerous times over a six-month period in 1992 at his childhood home in Phoenix, Maryland. Ransone detailed the allegations in a lengthy Instagram note sent directly to his alleged abuser.
"We did very little math," Ransone recalled. "The strongest memory I have of the abuse was washing blood and f---- out of my sheets after you left. I remember doing this as a 12-year-old because I was too ashamed to tell anyone."
Ransone said the alleged abuse led to a "lifetime of shame and embarrassment" and contributed to years of alcoholism and heroin addiction. After getting sober in 2006, he said he was "ready to confront" his past. He reported the allegations to Baltimore County police in March 2020, but prosecutors ultimately declined to bring charges.
His Sobriety
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His film credits included 'Prom Night', 'Sinister', 'Tangerine', 'It Chapter Two' and 'The Black Phone'.
In a 2016 Interview Magazine profile, Ransone reflected on his sobriety, saying he quit heroin at age 27 after five years of addiction.
"People think I got sober working on the 'Generation Kill'. I didn't. I sobered up six or seven months before that," he said at the time.
