A woman named Molly Watts has paid tribute to late actor James Ransone, who died on Sunday, and revealed that he had once saved her from being sexually assaulted while they were neighbors.
“I found out yesterday that @jamesransone died,” Watts wrote on Instagram. “I’m usually private but I want to publicly say I am so grateful that this man existed and don’t know if the trajectory of my life would be the same if he hadn’t.”
In her Instagram post, Watts wrote that she had lived in the same building as Ransone in Chinatown and that he had once saved her from an assailant.
“I was attacked at the threshold of our building. I screamed for help. No one came. My attacker put his hands around my throat so I would stop making noise. I couldn’t breathe. I remember the certainty that I was going to die or be raped as I was choked unconscious. PJ heard my screams and ran to help. He came running shirtless, carrying a bat or pipe — I’m not sure which, because I never saw him in action. He scared my attacker, who ran. PJ chased him to the building he fled to. Because of the chase, the police were able to identify him, a repeat sexual offender. PJ saved me. I’m not sure if I would have the same life if he hadn’t run down that night.”
She continued, “Even as an adult, I’m not sure how I would have handled the weight of what could have happened or how long it would take to heal — I was already emotionally fragile. What’s especially hard for me with PJ’s passing is that he lived with that kind of violence. What I was spared, he endured in a different form, at an age where there is no emotional defense, and the self is still forming. I get the sense that PJ’s life was haunted by what happened to him then. This world is rarely gentle to people who are hurt, vulnerable, acting out.”
Ransone died by suicide on Dec. 21 at age 46. He was known for playing Ziggy Sobotka on “The Wire” and adult Eddy Kaspbrak in “It: Chapter Two.” His other recent credits included “Black Phone 2,” “V/H/S/85,” “Small Engine Repair,” “What We Found,” Poker Face,” “Seal Team,” “50 States of Fright” and “The First.”
“Over the years, I have thought of PJ from time to time,” Watts added. I wanted to reach out to him to let him know how grateful I was that he ran towards my screams. I didn’t. I regret that.” She also shared a GoFundMe link to help raise money for Ransone’s family
