James Finley Ransone III (June 2, 1979 – December 19, 2025) was an American actor. Known for his roles in horror and drama, he played Ziggy Sobotka in the second season of the drama series The Wire, Cpl. Josh Ray Person in the war drama miniseries Generation Kill (2008), Deputy "So-and-So" in the supernatural horror films Sinister (2012) and Sinister 2 (2015), Chester in Tangerine (2015), adult Eddie Kaspbrak in It Chapter Two (2019), and Max in The Black Phone (2021).
Contents
Early life and education
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.
Career
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.
