James Ransone's legacy is one of heroism, as the world comes to remember him following his passing. On December 23rd, a heartfelt Instagram post by Molly Watts shared the story of how the late actor saved her from a horrific sexual assault outside his New York apartment in 2006.
"I discovered yesterday that @jamesransone had passed away," Watts began in her caption, accompanied by a photo of the Wire actor. "I'm usually a private person, but I want to publicly express my gratitude for this man's existence. I don't know if my life's trajectory would be the same if he hadn't been there."
Watts recounted the night of the attack, when she and Ransone were neighbors in Chinatown. "I was attacked at the threshold of our building. I screamed for help, but no one came," she said. "My attacker choked me so hard around my throat that I couldn't breathe. I was certain I was going to die or be raped."
"PJ (Ransone's nickname) heard my screams and rushed to my aid. He came running, shirtless, carrying a bat or pipe... He scared my attacker, who fled. PJ chased him to the building he had fled to. The police were able to identify him as a repeat sexual offender because of the chase."
"PJ saved me," Watts said. "I'm not sure if I would have the same life if he hadn't run down that night. 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."
In a 2016 interview on the Jim and Sam Show, Ransone recounted the incident: "I was watching TV with my then-girlfriend at the time. I was in just pajama bottoms. It was April, and it was raining a little bit. And I heard this scream for help. I heard this commotion, and I ran."
Ransone passed away by suicide at the age of 46 on December 19th. The actor had publicly spoken about his past struggles with addiction and alleged past childhood abuse.
In her post, Watts shared her grief: "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, and acting out." She continued, "Over the years, I have thought of PJ from time to time. I wanted to reach out to him to let him know how grateful I was that he ran towards my screams. But I didn't. I regret that now."
