James "PJ"Finley Ransone III^[1] (born June 2, 1979) is an American actor. He is known for his roles asZiggy Sobotka in the second season of the drama seriesThe Wire, US Marine Corps Cpl. Josh Ray Person in the war drama miniseriesGeneration Kill (2008),^[2][3] the Deputy in the supernatural horror filmsSinister (2012) andSinister 2 (2015), Chester inTangerine (2015), the adultEddie Kaspbrak inIt Chapter Two (2019), and Max inThe Black Phone (2021).

Ransone was born and raised inBaltimore, Maryland,^[4] the son of Joyce (née Peterson) and James Finley Ransone II, a Vietnam War veteran.^[5] He was educated at theGeorge Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology in Towson, Maryland, and attended theSchool of Visual Arts in Manhattan for one year.^[5]

In May 2021, on hisInstagram account, Ransone wrote that he was sexually abused by his math tutor Timothy Rualo in 1992.^[6] 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.^[7]

By the age of 27, Ransone had developed a heroin addiction and a debt of $30,000,^[8] but became sober in 2007.^[4]

He is married to Jamie McPhee, with whom he has a son.^[9]

In 2002, Ransone co-starred in theLarry Clark drama filmKen Park as Tate.^[10] In 2003, he was featured in 12 episodes of The Wire, asZiggy Sobotka. He had a supporting role inSpike Lee's 2006 heist movieInside Man as bank robber, Steve-O. He starred in the 2008 miniseriesGeneration Kill as Cpl. Josh Ray Person. In 2010, he was cast in a recurring role in the HBO comedy seriesHow to Make It in America, and the following year, appeared in a recurring role in the HBO drama seriesTreme.^[11] In 2012, he starred in the drama filmStarlet.^[12] The following year, he starred in theAMC drama seriesLow Winter Sun as Damon Callis.^[13]

Ransone then starred in the 2012 horror filmSinister in the supporting role of Deputy So-and-So. In June 2014, Ransone joined the cast of the Western filmIn a Valley of Violence.^[14] Also in 2014, Ransone starred inSmall Engine Repairoff-Broadway. In 2015, he had a supporting role in the comedy-drama filmTangerine.^[15] Following the success ofSinister, Ransone appeared in the 2015 sequelSinister 2, reprising his role from the first film but now as the main character.^[16] In 2016, Ransone appeared in Season 2 of the drama seriesBosch as Eddie Arceneaux.

In 2019, Ransone playedEddie Kaspbrak (sharing the role withJack Dylan Grazer) in the horror filmIt Chapter Two, for which he received critical praise.^{[citation needed]}

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• James Ransone atIMDb

• 1979 births
• 21st-century American male actors
• American male film actors
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• Male actors from Baltimore
• Independent Spirit Award winners

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