‘The Epitome of Class’: See the Stars’ Reactions to Lance Reddick’s Death

Saying goodbye to a bright star. Lance Reddick‘s Hollywood colleagues sang his praises as both an actor and a human being after the Wire alum died at 60 on Friday, March 17.

“Acclaimed actor Lance Reddick passed away suddenly this morning from natural causes,” the actor’s rep said in a statement to Us Weekly on Friday. “He is survived by his wife Stephanie Reddick and children Yvonne Nicole Reddick and Christopher Reddick. Donations in his memory can be made to momcares.org in Baltimore, his hometown. Lance will be greatly missed. Please respect his family’s privacy at this time.”

Among the first to pay tribute to the Maryland native was Wendell Pierce, who starred alongside Lance on the HBO crime drama The Wire.

“A man of great strength and grace,” Pierce, 59, wrote via Twitter on Friday. “As talented a musician as he was an actor. The epitome of class. A 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.”

Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn chimed in, “Lance Reddick was an incredibly nice guy and an incredibly talented actor. This is heartbreaking. My love goes out to all his family, friends and collaborators.”

Lance was in the midst of a press tour for John Wick: Chapter 4 at the time of his death, with an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show scheduled for next week. His last social media post was a carousel of Instagram photos of him and his dogs promoting a “full line of @johnwickmovie dog swag.”

The Fringe alum, who married Stephanie in 2011, will appear posthumously in Ballerina, Percy Jackson and the Olympians and White Men Can’t Jump.

Ben Stiller was among Lance’s fellow actors who praised his talents after his death.

“Lance Reddick was a beautiful and compelling actor. And a beautiful person. He worked with my mom, Anne Meara, in her play Afterplay, playing Raziel —the waiter slash angel of death. He was exquisite in that and all he did,” the Zoolander star, 57, wrote via Twitter, adding, “nothing is lost” alongside a heart emoji.

Stephen King, meanwhile, noted that the news of Lance’s passing at “the horribly unfair age of 60” came as he was “halfway through rewatching The Wire.”

The novelist, 75, continued: “Wonderful actor; wonderful man. This is sad news.”

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Keep scrolling to see how other stars reacted to the news of Lance’s death: