James Ransone’s widow Jamie McPhee broke her silence of The Wire star’s death, in a heartbreaking Instagram post shared on Sunday.
The actor, best known for his role as Ziggy Sobotka in HBO‘s hit crime drama died by suicide in a shed, aged 46 in Los Angeles on Friday.
Taking to the photosharing site, Jamie, who shares son Jack, six, and daughter Violet, four, with the late star, posted a sweet image showing cradling her baby bump.
She added a caption reading: ‘I told you I have loved you 1000 times before and I know I will love you again… You told me…
‘I need to be more like you and you need to be more like me – and you were so right. Thank you for giving me the greatest gifts – you, Jack and Violet. We are forever.’
James Ransone’s widow Jamie McPhee broke her silence of The Wire star’s death, in a heartbreaking Instagram post shared on Sunday
She added a caption reading: ‘I told you I have loved you 1000 times before and I know I will love you again’
James, Jamie and their two children are pictured in 2023
On Sunday, the medical examiner’s office noted that his body is ready for release. Following his passing, Jamie has since added a fundraiser benefiting the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) to her social media profile.
James was best known to television audiences for his role as Ziggy Sobotka, the troubled Baltimore dock worker and son of union leader Frank Sobotka (played by Chris Bauer), in the second season of HBO’s The Wire.
He appeared in 12 episodes during the show’s 2003 run.
The Wire aired from 2002 to 2008 and is widely regarded as one of the most influential television dramas of all time.
Its ensemble cast included Dominic West, Michael Kenneth Williams, Idris Elba, Lance Reddick, Wendell Pierce, Wood Harris, John Doman, Frankie Faison and Lawrence Gilliard Jr.
Ransone became a familiar face across the HBO ecosystem, later appearing in Generation Kill and Treme, and he also had a role on Amazon’s Bosch.
His final television appearance came earlier this year in a season two episode of Poker Face, which aired in June.
In film, Ransone’s credits spanned genres, from horror to indie drama. His roles included Prom Night (2008), Sinister (2012), Sinister 2 (2015), Tangerine (2015), Mr. Right (2015), It Chapter Two (2019), The Black Phone (2021) and the upcoming Black Phone 2 (2025).
Jamie shared a host of wholesome family snaps on her Instagram page (James with son Jack, six, and daughter Violet, four in 2022)
According to records from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, the actor died by suicide in Los Angeles on Friday
Ransone was open in recent years about deeply personal struggles (pictured in 2019)
Ransone was open in recent years about deeply personal struggles.
In 2021, he publicly shared that he was a survivor of sexual abuse.
He had also spoken candidly about addiction and recovery, revealing in a 2016 Interview Magazine profile that he got sober at age 27 after years of heroin use.
‘People think I got sober working on the ‘Generation Kill.’ I didn’t,’ he said at the time. ‘I sobered up six or seven months before that. I 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, ‘I think somebody made a mistake. This is too much responsibility for me.’
Ransone’s death marks a tragic loss for colleagues and fans who followed his career from gritty television dramas to independent film.
