James Ransone, a Baltimore-area native who played Ziggy Sobotka in “The Wire,” has died, according to a coroner’s report and multiple media outlets. He was 46.

A report by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner posted online said he died by suicide Friday. The investigation remains open, and the medical examiner’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Messages left for Ransone’s family members were not immediately returned. Attempts to reach representatives for Ransone were unsuccessful Sunday.

Ransone graduated from the Carver Center for Arts & Technology in Towson in 1997 and later lived in New York City and Los Angeles, appearing in the wartime miniseries “Generation Kill” in 2008 and horror films “Sinister” and “It Chapter Two,” in the 2010s.

But to Baltimore audiences he was best known for his beloved role as the tragic character Ziggy, the son of stevedore leader Frank Sobotka, in season two of HBO’s “The Wire.”

Ransone, who was also known as “PJ,” was often associated with the character, which initially annoyed him, he said in multiple interviews.

“I think the thing that I resented the most about it is that people didn’t really like that character. Or if they did it was so tragic that it broke their hearts. So it was a really polarizing character,” he said in 2019, according to The Baltimore Sun.

In 2021, Ransone said a math tutor during his youth abused him. His allegations prompted a Baltimore County Police investigation, but prosecutors did not bring charges.

He struggled with heroin addiction in his 20s, he previously said.

David Simon, who created “The Wire,” also worked with Ransone on “Generation Kill” and the show “Treme.” He called Ransone an “extraordinary talent” and a “smart, sincere collaborator.”

“He committed not only to the work but to the camaraderie that turns every good film production into something familial and caring,” Simon said in a statement Sunday.

Simon met Ransone when the latter read for the part of Ziggy. Impressed with his Baltimore accent, Simon asked how he managed it. Ransone replied he was from the area.

“I got this part covered,” Simon remembered him saying.

“And he did. Not only Ziggy, but a Marine lance corporal and New York line cook as well,” Simon said. “He didn’t simply act; he inhabited his roles.”

If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org

This article may be updated.