James McCaffrey, Rescue Me actor and voice of Max Payne, dies at 65

James McCaffrey, the actor known for voicing the titular Max Payne across the hit video game trilogy, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 65.

A representative for the actor confirmed his death to EW, sharing that McCaffrey died on Dec. 17, surrounded by his family and friends.

TMZ was the first to report the news, sharing that McCaffrey was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

Born in Albany, N.Y., McCaffrey trained at the Actor’s Studio and began his career with several direct-to-video movies before breaking into television. After appearing in the 1992 legal drama Civil Wars, his breakout role came in the form of a seven-episode stint in the Fox procedural, New York Undercover. He played the recurring role of Captain Arthur O’Byrne in the show’s third season. 

McCaffrey next led the first season of the crime drama Viper, which originally aired as a single season in 1994. The series was later revived, with McCaffrey returning for the fourth and final season. He also starred in the one and only season of the famously violent detective drama Swift Justice, alongside Giancarlo Esposito. 

He later appeared in The Big Easy, Sex and the City, and The Job, but his next big role would be firefighter Jimmy Keefe in the FX dramedy, Rescue Me.

McCaffrey's TV credits also included Blue Bloods, Revenge, Suits, White Collar, She’s Gotta Have it, and Jessica Jones. He appeared in films including American Splendor, Hide and Seek, Camp Hope, Confidence Game, and The Big Take.

McCaffrey is perhaps best known for voice over work, playing the title character in the Max Payne trilogy of games, which includes the original 2001 third-person shooter Max Payne, its 2003 sequel Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, and the final installment from 2012, Max Payne 3.

He also cameoed in the 2008 film adaptation, which starred Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis. McCaffrey's most recent performance was in Alan Wake 2, where he appeared as FBI agent Alex Casey, a character who acts as a pseudo-love letter to the Max Payne series. McCaffrey also had roles in Control and Alone in the Dark.

Entourage actor and longtime friend of McCaffrey, Kevin Dillon paid tribute to him on Instagram with an emotional post. “James McCaffrey we were lucky to have known you,” Dillon wrote. “My best friend you will be missed.”

McCaffrey is survived by his wife Rochelle Bostrom and their daughter, Tiernan.

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