Actor James Ransone, best known for his role as Ziggy Sobotka in “The Wire,” has died in an apparent suicide. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner listed his cause of death as suicide on Friday. He was 46. BREAKING: ‘The Wire’ actor James Ransone dead at 46 The death has been ruled a suicide pic.twitter.com/TzMGggh4gq — Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 21, 2025 More from the New York Post: He was a married father of two, and wife Jamie McPhee posted a fundraiser for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in her social media profile. Ransone’s cause of death was listed as “hanging,” while his place of death was listed as “shed.” His body is ready for release, the LA County Medical Examiner’s records stated. The Post has reached out to reps for Ransone and “The Wire” creator David Simon for comment. Ransone portrayed Frank Sobotka’s (Chris Bauer) son, Baltimore dock worker Ziggy, in the second season of “The Wire.” He appeared in 12 episodes total in 2003. Ransone discussed his struggle with addiction in 2016, Fox News noted. “People think I got sober working on the ‘Generation Kill.’ I didn’t,” Ransone said in a prior interview, according to the outlet. “I sobered up six or seven months before that. I remember going to Africa and I was going to be there for almost a year. I was number two on the call sheet and I was like, ‘I think somebody made a mistake. This is too much responsibility for me,'” he added. James Ransone, ‘The Wire’ actor, dead by suicide at 46 https://t.co/YHwkeGfLvs pic.twitter.com/iMONMpFQdu — New York Post (@nypost) December 21, 2025 Fox News shared further: In 2021, according to Page Six, Ransone posted a lengthy email to his Instagram, claiming he was the victim of sexual abuse as a child. (The alleged post has since been taken down.) Ransone accused his former tutor, Timothy Rualo, of allegedly sexually abusing him numerous times over the course of six months in 1992. According to the alleged email, the abuse led to years of substance abuse and mental struggles. A representative for Ransone did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Ransone also had roles in TV shows such as “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “Generation Kill,” “Treme,” as well as the film, “It: Chapter 2.” His final TV appearance was in a Season 2 episode of “Poker Face,” which aired in June.