# James Ransone

James "PJ" Finley Ransone III (born June 2, 1979) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Ziggy Sobotka in the second season of the drama series The Wire, US Marine Corps Cpl. Josh Ray Person in the war drama miniseries Generation Kill (2008), the Deputy in the supernatural horror films Sinister (2012) and Sinister 2 (2015), Chester in Tangerine (2015), the adult Eddie Kaspbrak in It Chapter Two (2019), and Max in The Black Phone (2021).

## Early life and education

Ransone was born and raised 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.

## Personal life

In May 2021, on his Instagram account, Ransone wrote that he was sexually abused by his math tutor Timothy Rualo in 1992. He reported his allegations to the Baltimore County police in March 2020, but they declined to pursue the charges after an investigation. An investigation by the Baltimore school system has not yet been resolved.
By the age of 27, Ransone had developed a heroin addiction and a debt of $30,000, but became sober in 2007.
He is married to Jamie McPhee, with whom he has a son.

## Career

In 2002, Ransone co-starred in the Larry Clark drama film Ken Park as Tate. In 2003, he was featured 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 starred in the 2012 horror film Sinister in the supporting role of Deputy So-and-So. In June 2014, Ransone joined the cast of the Western film In a Valley of Violence. Also in 2014, Ransone 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 appeared in the 2015 sequel Sinister 2, reprising his role from the first film but now as the main character. In 2016, Ransone appeared in Season 2 of the drama series Bosch as Eddie Arceneaux.
In 2019, Ransone played Eddie Kaspbrak (sharing the role with Jack Dylan Grazer) in the horror film It Chapter Two, for which he received critical praise.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | The American Astronaut | Bodysuit | |
| 2002 | Ken Park | Tate | |
| 2003 | Fan Mail | Ricky | Short film |
| 2003 | Nola | Neo-Gothboy | |
| 2004 | A Dirty Shame | Dave "Dingy Dave" | |
| 2004 | Downtown: A Street Tale | Billy | |
| 2004 | Malachance | Mika | |
| 2005 | The Good Humor Man | "Junebug" | |
| 2005 | Granted! | Larry | Short film |
| 2006 | Inside Man | Darius Peltz / Steve-O | |
| 2006 | Directions: The Plans Video Album | | Segment: "What Sarah Said" |
| 2006 | Puccini for Beginners | Lone Guy At Bistro | |
| 2008 | Prom Night | Detective Nash | |
| 2009 | The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll | Chip Genson | |
| 2010 | The Next Three Days | Harvey "Harv" | |
| 2011 | The Lie | "Weasel" | |
| 2011 | The Son of No One | Thomas Prudenti | |
| 2012 | Sinister | Deputy So-and-So | |
| 2012 | Starlet | Mikey | Robert Altman Award for Best Ensemble Cast |
| 2012 | Red Hook Summer | Kevin | |
| 2013 | Broken City | Todd Lancaster | |
| 2013 | Empire State | Agent Nugent | |
| 2013 | The Man Who Came Out Only at Night | | Short film |
| 2013 | Oldboy | Dr. Tom Melby | |
| 2013 | Year of the Rat | Guy | Short film |
| 2014 | Electric Slide | Jan Phillips | |
| 2014 | False True Love | | Video short |
| 2014 | This American Life: One Night Only at BAM | David | Video |
| 2014 | Fruits De Mer | George | Short film |
| 2014 | Cymbeline | Philario | |
| 2014 | Kristy | Scott | |
| 2015 | Tangerine | Chester | |
| 2015 | The Timber | Wyatt | |
| 2015 | Bloomin Mud Shuffle | Lonnie | |
| 2015 | Sinister 2 | Ex-Deputy So-and-So | |
| 2015 | Mr. Right | Von Cartigan | |
| 2015 | Conventional | Stu Mac 3 | Short film |
| 2016 | In a Valley of Violence | Deputy Gilly Martin | |
| 2016 | Light Up the Night | Joe | Short film |
| 2017 | It Happened in L.A. | Heath | |
| 2017 | Gemini | Stan | |
| 2017 | The Clapper | Darth Guy | |
| 2017 | Cabiria, Charity, Chastity | Anthony, The Strongman | Video short |
| 2018 | Family Blood | Christopher | |
| 2018 | Write When You Get Work | Steven Noble | |
| 2018 | Doulo | Edwin | Short film |
| 2018 | Tough Love | Man | Short film |
| 2019 | Captive State | Patrick Ellison | |
| 2019 | It Chapter Two | Eddie Kaspbrak | Shared role with Jack Dylan Grazer |
| 2020 | What We Found | Steve Mohler | |
| 2021 | Small Engine Repair | P.J. | |
| 2021 | The Black Phone | Max | |
| 2023 | V/H/S/85 | Bobby | Segment: "Dreamkill" |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Law & Order | Mark Dale | Episode: "Deep Vote" |
| 2002 | Third Watch | Frankie | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | Ed | Gary Morton | Episode: "Power of the Person" |
| 2003 | The Wire | Ziggy Sobotka | 12 episodes |
| 2005 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Zack Capola | Episode: "Iced" |
| 2006 | Love Monkey | Glenn | Episode: "The Window" |
| 2006 | Law & Order | Michael Wayland | Episode: "Fame" |
| 2007 | Jericho | Daryl | Episode: "A.K.A." |
| 2008 | Generation Kill | Corporal Josh Ray Person | Miniseries; 7 episodes |
| 2010 | How to Make It in America | Tim | 7 episodes |
| 2010 | Burn Notice | Dennis Wayne Barfield | Episode: "Eyes Open" |
| 2011 | Hawaii Five-0 | Johnny D. / Perry Hutchinson | Episode: "Ne Me'e Laua Na Paio" |
| 2011 | Treme | Nick | 10 episodes |
| 2013 | Low Winter Sun | Damon Callis | Main cast |
| 2016 | Bosch | Eddie Arceneaux | 8 episodes |
| 2018 | Mosaic | Michael O'Connor | 6 episodes |
| 2018 | The First | Nick Fletcher | Main cast |
| 2018 | Deadwax | Scotty | Episode: "Part One" |
| 2020 | 50 States of Fright | Sebastian Klepner | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | SEAL Team | Reiss Julian | 5 episodes |

### Theater

| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Company | Notes |
| 2013 | Small Engine Repair | Packie | Lucille Lortel Theatre | MCC Theater | |