At the premiere of action sequel John Wick: Chapter 4 in Los Angeles, the screening of the movie was preceded by an emotional standing ovation for the late actor Lance Reddick, who died on March 17 from natural causes at the age of 60. On the red carpet of the premiere, many of Reddick’s co-stars spoke in his memory, including leading man Keanu Reeves.
“It’s probably every time he walked in a room, you know, every time you were in his presence, he was such a special person, special artist, and he had a grace and dignity and a passion for life and his craft,” said Reeves. “And just to be in his life and to be in his presence, and getting the chance to work with him… every day was special.”
Ian McShane, another John Wick franchise mainstay, called Reddick “a great colleague, great actor and most of all, a great human being.” Meanwhile Laurence Fishburne, who plays The Bowery King, described Reddick as the “heart of these movies,” saying: “We lost our brother. But we made a beautiful movie, it’s the best of all of them, and I think people are going to love it and that’s what it’s about, right? He wouldn’t want us to not do this.”
Reddick played Charon, the mysterious, genteel concierge at the Continental Hotel—a neutral ground for the criminal underworld—in all four John Wick installments. In a 2021 interview with Vulture, Reddick said that his performance was inspired by “Alfred from Batman and Hector Elizondo from Pretty Woman,” and the character of Charon has proven so popular with viewers that a prequel series based on his origin story is in the works.
In addition to the John Wick series, Reddick was known for his roles in The Wire, Lost, Fringe, Oz, and the Destiny video games.
Philip Ellis is a freelance writer and journalist from the United Kingdom covering pop culture, relationships and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV.
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