James Ransone, the actor known for his roles in IT Chapter Two and Tangerine, has died. He was 46.
The Film Independent Spirit Award winner was found dead by hanging on Friday in Los Angeles, having apparently died by suicide, according to the county medical examiner’s report.
Born June 2, 1979 in Baltimore, Ransone attended the nearby George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology before studying at Manhattan’s School of Visual Arts. Some of his early roles include films like Larry Clark’s Ken Park (2002), John Waters’ A Dirty Shame (2004) and Spike Lee’s Inside Man (2006).
Ransone was known for his horror roles as the grown Eddie Kaspbrak in IT Chapter Two (2019) and the unnamed deputy in Sinister (2012) and Sinister 2 (2015), most recently reprising his The Black Phone (2021) role as Max in Black Phone 2.
His other movie credits include Prom Night (2008), Starlet (2012), Spike Lee’s Red Hook Summer (2012), Oldboy (2013), Cymbeline (2014), Sean Baker’s Tangerine (2015), Mr. Right (2015), Gemini (2017) and V/H/S/85 (2023).
Bill Hader, Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, James Ransone, Isaiah Mustafa and Jay Ryan in ‘IT Chapter Two’ (2019) (Brooke Palmer/Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection)
On TV, Ransone appeared in episodes of The Wire, CSI, Law & Order, Burn Notice, Hawaii Five-0, Treme, Bosch and Poker Face.
Ransone is survived by wife Jamie McPhee and their son.