There are actors who are so consistently great onscreen that they elevate everything they show up in, instantly adding an electric energy to even the oddest projects. Actors who, while not always the stars of the show, are always exciting to watch.
Lance Reddick was one of those — a commanding presence onscreen who consistently did something slightly unexpected with the parts he played. He often represented authority figures — cops, detectives, lawyers, hotel concierges — but never seemed typecast, contrasting his looming height with a deep, soft voice, weaponizing his piercing gaze against anyone who dared cross him.
A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Reddick cruised around television procedurals and crime dramas for a few years in the 1990s before breaking out with roles in Oz and The Wire, long-running dramas that took similarly expansive looks at the complicated, interconnected worlds of crime and law enforcement.
He was best known for playing Cedric Daniels in The Wire seen pictured below right (2002–2008), Phillip Broyles in Fringe (2008–2013) pictured below right and Chief Irvin Irving in Bosch (2014–2020).
In film, he was best known for starring as Charon in the John Wick franchise (2014–2023) and David Gentry in Angel Has Fallen (2019).He portrayed his character perfectly in such a fashion that he became a stellar scene-stealing charcater that had layers of dynamic personas.
After that, he was seen or geard in everything from mystery-box TV shows to action franchises like John Wick (see previous blog on it) and an epic video-game series; an instantly recognizable presence no matter where he was.
When his family recently announced his death, fans showered his most beloved and underrated characters alike with an outpouring of love.
To the surprise of many fans, Lance Reddick had many memorable voiceover roles over the course of his career, including that of Alan Rails on the popular cartoon series "Rick and Morty" - cartoon seen at left.
He was featured in the Season 3 episode, "Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender."
He was also known for portraying Detective Johnny Basil on Oz (1997–2003), Matthew Abaddon in Lost (2004–2010), and Albert Wesker in the Netflix series Resident Evil (2022). 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.
As a teenager, he studied music at the Peabody Preparatory Institute and a summer program teaching music theory and composition at the Walden School.[6] Reddick studied classical musiccomposition 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.
Reddick released his debut album Contemplations & Remembrances in 2007, and in early 2008, he was cast in a key role in the pilot of Fringe[12] 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."[13] 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 2008–2009 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.[15] He starred in the YouTube web series DR0NE, where he was also credited as a co-producer.
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. He also voiced the character Sylens in the 2017 video game Horizon Zero Dawn and reprised his role in the sequel Horizon Forbidden West. In 2021, Reddick appeared in the film Godzilla vs. Kong.[28] In 2022, Reddick portrayed Albert Wesker in the live action Resident Evil Netflix series, which was cancelled after one season.
He will appear posthumously as the Greek god Zeus in the upcoming series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Disney+ adaption of the book series of the same name, and Hellboy in the video-game, Hellboy: Web of Wyrd.
Charon: John Wick Franchise
Charon, the concierge at the New York branch of the Continental Hotel, is much more than meets the eye. Ever the well-wisher of John, Charon has a sense of respect for John Wick’s reputation, not as a hitman but as a human being. A well-mannered and well-spoken caretaker, Charon is more than capable of handling the safe haven of the underworld, as seen in the climax scene of “John Wick: Chapter 2,” where Charon defends the Continental alongside John. Charon’s loyalty to Winston and the Continental is unquestionable, as he defends both of them while putting his own life at stake. We also saw John entrusting his dog to Charon a couple of times; coincidentally, Charon’s actor, Lance Reddick, is the pet parent of four rescue dogs.
Lance Reddick will reprise his role as the ever-faithful attendant for the last time after his shocking demise a few days earlier. Seeing him for the last time in a role he could relate to will be extremely emotional for the audience.
https://www.vulture.com/article/best-lance-reddick-movies-tv-shows.html