Ransone had a history of suicidal ideation and had expressed a desire to check into a hospital for “unspecified mental health issues” around the time of his death.

New details about The Wire actor James Ransone’s death revealed

Ransone had a history of suicidal ideation and had expressed a desire to check into a hospital for "unspecified mental health issues" around the time of his death.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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July 1, 2026 9:44 p.m. ET

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James Ransone in Westwood, Calif., in 2019. Credit:

Jon Kopaloff/Getty

- A report from the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner revealed new information about the death of James Ransone.

- The *Wire* actor had a history of suicidal ideation and had recently expressed a desire to check into a hospital for "unspecified mental health issues" around the time of his death.

- Ransone died by suicide on Dec. 19, 2025.

Officials have released new information about the death of James Ransone.

The *It: Chapter Two* actor died by suicide in December 2025. A report from the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner, which has been reviewed by **, shed light on the details surrounding Ransone's death.

According to the document, Ransone "had history of suicidal ideations," but no prior reported suicide attempts. The actor had also stated that he "wanted to kill himself" and that he "needed to go to a hospital" for "unspecified mental health issues" before his death.

Ransone was last seen alive in the early afternoon on Dec. 19. After he was found unresponsive in a shed, paramedics responded to a 911 call and pronounced him dead around 2:25 p.m.

James Ransone in Los Angeles in 2016.

Stefanie Keenan/Getty

The report said that prescription medications were found on the scene and that "multiple small white colored 'pouches'" were found in the actor's mouth; however, the document said that Ransone had no history of drug or alcohol use, and there was no drug paraphernalia found at the scene.

The Medical Examiner's report also stated that no suicide note was found at the scene and that there were no signs of suspected foul play.

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Best known for playing Ziggy Sobotka on season 2 of *The Wire*, Ransone often spoke publicly about his past struggles with addiction to painkillers and heroin.

"What got me into using heroin were prescription painkillers: Vicodin, oxycodone, Xanax, benzodiazepines," he told The Fix in 2015. "I became strung out on those pills and when you're a junkie, you do anything to get it. I ended up ripping off a lot of doctors, stealing a lot of prescription pads. I started that hustle, but then a couple of my friends got arrested for that. Somehow, I had enough foresight to go, 'Okay, this is a federal crime and could result in some serious time.' So, I switched to doing heroin because it was much easier to get a hold of."

He continued, "I almost died a couple of times. One time, I actually did die and got brought back to life. Then I got arrested a few times. The last time I got arrested, I got out of jail and came home and got a couple of bundles of heroin and tried to get high, but it didn't work anymore. That was the scariest part: Drugs couldn't silence the volume of noise in my head anymore."

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Ransone also told the same outlet about past suicide attempts.

"I tried to kill myself a couple of times," he said. "Junkies are funny because we're just so incompetent at everything that I couldn't even pull that off successfully. I called a friend, and I was, like, 'I think I'm gonna kill myself, or I'm gonna go to rehab.' My friend was like, 'Hey, why don't you try rehab first.' That's what I did and that was in 2006, and I've been clean since."

*If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at** 988lifeline.org** 24/7.*

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