But I happened to have just seen him in a movie last Saturday night: Don't Say a Word, which I already wrote about here. And I remember at that time appreciating him again, like I always do -- I mean, specifically thinking about how good he is, how much he commands the screen, even in a small role, rather than just noting him and moving on.
Six days later, I learned he had had passed at age 60 from what was listed as natural causes, but natural causes that were also described as sudden.
And then when I went to check out his IMDB to see exactly what the breakdown between TV and movies was, I was reminded of how many times he did appear in the movies -- which is why it feels like Reddick has been in my life even though I haven't seen an episode of Fringe or The Wire in a good decade.
He's been in all three John Wick movies, and we'll see him in the fourth (though sadly, not the inevitable fifth).
He was in the 2018 film Little Woods, which I just saw and really liked last year.
He was in Riley Stearns' Faults, which I really liked, and Spike Lee's Oldboy, which I liked more than most people did.
A point of reference I wouldn't have had was the "Down" movies, none of which I've seen, such as White House Down. They probably didn't burnish his resume but they do provide further evidence that Reddick was a regular presence in the movies.
Twenty-five years ago, near the very start of his career (he got a late start), Reddick even worked with Alfonso Cuaron on his adaptation of Great Expectations.
But I don't really need to spend all this time justifying why I am writing about Lance Reddick on a movie blog. I should really be spending my time on praising the man.
Reddick had an intensity that outshone anyone else on the screen. This does not mean he was always turned up to 11, and in fact, that's not what his intensity was about. It was more often a calm intensity, anchored by a cool look in his eyes that nonetheless pierced you and held yours until you had to drop them.
This made him work well as an authority figure, which he frequently played. It could also be harnessed for villainy, which I'm sure he also played on occasion, though no examples are immediately coming to mind.
Maybe the reason I can't think of any examples of Reddick playing villains was that you wanted to like him. He was such a likeable presence. He could stare you down and dress you down with quiet efficiency, but when he cracked a smile, it was just the reward you were looking for. Reddick was the authority figure we all wanted in our lives -- a man who does things by the book, but will twist the rules if it's in the interest of the greater good. And he was like the stern parent whose hard-won smile we craved.
I'll miss seeing Lance Reddick on my screens, be they big or small.
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