Brad William Henke, popular actor from the series “Orange Is the New Black” and “Lost”, has died at the age of 56, according to his agent and representative.
“Brad Henke was an incredibly kind man with happy energy. As a very talented actor, he loved being a part of this community and we returned the love,” his rep Matt DelPiano released in an official statement, which also took the opportunity to offer his condolences to the family: “Our thoughts are with his wife and family,” he added.
So far, neither the family nor DelPiano have released causes of death, but in a statement to CNN, Henke’s rep revealed that he “died peacefully in his sleep.”
Brad passed away on November 29, but at the request of the family, the news was only released a few days ago.
Who Was Brad William Henke?
Before Henke found his calling in acting, he developed into a professional athlete and was even drafted by the NY Giants in 1989, where he made his debut as a lineman. He later joined the Denver Broncos and competed in his first Super Bowl in 1990 against the San Francisco 49ers.
However, injuries he sustained on the field caused him to retire in 1994, so he moved to Los Angeles to try his hand at coaching. Life, on the other hand, had something else in store for him.
Henke made his first appearance on camera after auditioning for an ad calling for “big boys”; the rest was history. He has appeared on a dozen television shows including ER, Silk Stalkings, Lost, Dexter, and NCIS.
But his most endearing character was Desi Piscatella, a gay officer on the hit Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, which earned him a SAG award.
He has also appeared in more than 40 films, including Space Jam, Bright, Fury, Me and You and Everyone We Know and Choke, the latter winner of the Special Jury Award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.