Keanu Reeves mourns the sudden death of John Wick co-star
Keanu Reeves is mourning the loss of good friend and John Wick co-star Lance Reddick, who passed away suddenly aged 60.
“We are deeply saddened and heartbroken at the loss of our beloved friend and colleague Lance Reddick,” Reeves, 58, and director Chad Stahelski said in a joint statement to Variety.
“He was the consummate professional and a joy to work with. Our love and prayers are with his wife Stephanie, his children, family and friends.”
Reeves and Stahelski have shared they will dedicate John Wick: Chapter 4, which will be released in cinemas on March 23, to Reddick’s “loving memory”.
“We will miss him dearly,” they said, Page Six reported.
Reddick’s wife, Stephanie, whom he married in 2011, shared a message on his Instagram for his 139,000 followers.
“Lance was taken from us far too soon,” she said. “Thank you for all your overwhelming love, support and beautiful stories shared on these platforms over the last day. I see your messages and can’t begin to express how grateful I am to have them.”
“And to the thousands of Destiny players who played in special tribute to Lance, thank you,” she added. “Lance loved you as much as he loved the game.”
Reddick, perhaps best known for his role in the crime series The Wire, also played Commander Zavala in the Destiny franchise.
Representatives for the actor confirmed his death in a statement to People, saying that he “passed away suddenly this morning from natural causes”.
“Lance was best known for his roles in The Wire, Bosch, Netflix’s Resident Evil and the John Wick films,” his reps added. “He is survived by his wife, Stephanie Reddick, and children, Yvonne Nicole Reddick and Christopher Reddick.
“Lance will be greatly missed. Please respect his family’s privacy at this time.”
Reddick’s body was discovered by police at his home in Studio City, California, according to TMZ.
Wendell Pierce, who co-starred with Reddick on the hit HBO show The Wire, mourned the loss of a “man of great strength and grace” on Twitter.
“As talented a musician as he was an actor,” he tweeted. “The epitome of class. An [sic] sudden unexpected sharp painful grief for our artistic family. An unimaginable suffering for his personal family and loved ones. Godspeed my friend. You made your mark here. RIP.”
Ben Stiller, who worked alongside Reddick’s late mother, Anne Meara, in the play Afterplay, also took to Twitter to honour the actor.
“Lance Reddick was an [sic] beautiful and compelling actor,” he tweeted. “And a beautiful person … He was exquisite in that and all he did. Nothing is lost.”
In December 2021, the late actor praised his working relationship with Reeves, describing him as “someone who’s very generous as an actor and then all about the work”.
“On one hand I feel like I don’t know him very well, but on the other, I just adore that guy,” he had told Vulture. “He’s such a wonderful human being.”
Image credit: Getty