James Ransone

James Finley Ransone III was born on June 2, 1979, 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, before dropping out. After working as a party photographer for Patrick McMullan, at age 19, for a brief period of time, he started working in art films.

In 2002, Ransone co-starred in the Larry Clark drama film Ken Park as Tate. In 2003, he appeared 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 appeared in the 2012 horror film Sinister in the supporting role of Deputy So-and-So. In June 2014, he joined the cast of the Western film In a Valley of Violence. Also in 2014, he 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 reprised his role in the 2015 sequel Sinister 2, this time as the film's main character. In 2016, he appeared in Season 2 of the drama series Bosch as Eddie Arceneaux. In 2019, Ransone portrayed the adult Eddie Kaspbrak in the horror film It Chapter Two, sharing the role with Jack Dylan Grazer, who played the younger version.

By the age of 27, Ransone had developed a heroin addiction and a debt of $30,000, but became sober shortly after, several months before filming Generation Kill, as shared in a 2016 profile with the Interview magazine. In May 2021, Ransone wrote on his Instagram account that he was sexually abused for around six months by his math tutor in 1992, and that this was a factor in the alcohol and heroin addictions he later struggled with. He further described how the abuse led to a "lifetime of shame and embarrassment". He reported his allegations to Baltimore County Police in March 2020, but they declined to pursue the charges after an investigation. The Baltimore County School System was informed of the allegations, according to police; school officials acknowledged having been notified of a "concern" but declined to specify what actions had been taken. Ransone was married to Jamie McPhee and had two children. On December 19, 2025, Ransone was found dead in a shed on his property. The Los Angeles Police Department investigators confirmed that no foul play was involved in his death; the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Ransone died by suicide via hanging at the age of 46. Following his death, his wife shared a fundraiser for the National Alliance on Mental Illness on social media. Newsweek honored him as a "vocal advocate for sexual abuse survivors."