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James "PJ" Finley Ransone III (born June 2, 1979) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Ziggy Sobotka in the second season of the drama series The Wire, US Marine Corps Cpl. Josh Ray Person in the war drama miniseries Generation Kill (2008), The Deputy in the supernatural horror films Sinister (2012) and Sinister 2 (2015), Chester in Tangerine (2015), the adult Eddie Kaspbrak in It Chapter Two (2019), and Max in The Black Phone (2021).

Life

Ransone was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Joyce (née Peterson) and James Finley Ransone II, a Vietnam War veteran. He was educated at the George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology in Towson, Maryland, and attended the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan for one year.

In May 2021, on his Instagram account, Ransone wrote that he was sexually abused by his math tutor Timothy Rualo in 1992. He reported his allegations to the Baltimore County police in March 2020, but they declined to pursue the charges after an investigation. An investigation by the Baltimore school system has not yet been resolved.

By the age of 27, Ransone had developed a heroin addiction and a debt of $30,000, but became sober in 2007.

He is married to Jamie McPhee, with whom he has a son.

Career

In 2002, Ransone co-starred in the Larry Clark drama film Ken Park as Tate. In 2003, he was featured in 12 episodes of The Wire, as Ziggy Sobotka. He had a supporting role in Spike Lee's 2006 heist movie Inside Man as bank robber, Steve-O. He starred in the 2008 miniseries Generation Kill as Cpl. Josh Ray Person. In 2010, he was cast in a recurring role in the HBO comedy series How to Make It in America, and the following year, appeared in a recurring role in the HBO drama series Treme. In 2012, he starred in the drama film Starlet. The following year, he starred in the AMC drama series Low Winter Sun as Damon Callis.

Ransone then starred in the 2012 horror film Sinister in the supporting role of Deputy So-and-So. In June 2014, Ransone joined the cast of the Western film In a Valley of Violence. Also in 2014, Ransone starred in Small Engine Repair off-Broadway. In 2015, he had a supporting role in the comedy-drama film Tangerine. Following the success of Sinister, Ransone appeared in the 2015 sequel Sinister 2, reprising his role from the first film but now as the main character. In 2016, Ransone appeared in Season 2 of the drama series Bosch as Eddie Arceneaux.

In 2019, Ransone played Eddie Kaspbrak (sharing the role with Jack Dylan Grazer) in the horror film It Chapter Two, for which he received critical praise.

Filmography

Film

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Television

Theater

References

1. Alvarez, Rafael; Simon, David (2009). The Wire: Truth Be Told. Canongate Books. ISBN 978-1-84767-598-9.
2. Hooley, Danny (August 1, 2008). "TV Eye: Actor James Ransone on 'Generation Kill'". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on February 23, 2011.
3. Robinson, John (September 26, 2009). "Killing yourself to live". The Guardian.
4. ^ Sapienza, Ethan (October 19, 2016). "Baltimore's Son". Interview.
5. ^ Barshad, Amos (July 14, 2015). "From Ziggy to Stardust: How James Ransone Shed His Iconic 'Wire' Character and Broke Out". Grantland.
6. Ransone, James (May 17, 2021). "as long as we are airing out dirty laundry (sorry I have to do this here)..." Retrieved August 28, 2021 – via Instagram.
7. DeVille, Taylor (May 27, 2021). "'The Wire' actor says a Baltimore County educator sexually abused him 29 years ago, and faults the school system's response to his allegations". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
8. "James Ransone: From 115 lb. Heroin Addict to Indie Hero". WordPress. December 2, 2009.
9. Witzke, Craig. "Obituary for James Finley Ransone". Candle Light Funeral Home. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
10. McCarthy, Todd (September 5, 2002). "Review: 'Ken Park'". Variety. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
11. Kroll, Justin (November 17, 2010). "Ransone answers 'Treme's' siren call". Variety.
12. DeFore, John (March 17, 2012). "Starlet: SXSW Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
13. Ausiello, Michael (August 14, 2012). "Pilot Scoop: Jericho's Lennie James Joins AMC Drama Pilot Low Winter Sun". TVLine. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
14. Yamato, Jen (June 3, 2014). "James Ransone Joins Blumhouse Western 'In A Valley Of Violence'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
15. Yamato, Jen (June 19, 2014). "'Starlet's Sean Baker Sets 'Tangerine' With The Duplass Brothers Exec Producing". Deadline Hollywood.
16. Yamato, Jen (August 13, 2014). "'Sinister 2' Sets Shannyn Sossamon & James Ransone As Leads". Deadline Hollywood.

External links

• James Ransone at IMDb

• 1979 births
• 21st-century American male actors
• American male film actors
• American male television actors
• Living people
• Male actors from Baltimore
• Independent Spirit Award winners