Former NFL player and “Orange Is The New Black” actor, Brad William Henke, has passed on at the age of 56.
The actor died on Tuesday, according to a rep, but no cause was revealed. According to TMZ, Henke passed away in his sleep.
Henke appeared in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black” as Desi Piscatella, a gay corrections officer at Litchfield Penitentiary who served as the main antagonist of Season 4 and 5. He shared a SAG Award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series in 2017.
He also had roles in TV shows like “Justified” and “Lost”, and appearing in movies including “Pacific Rim” and “World Trade Center.” He also had a lead role in the series “Going to California,” which ran for one season,
Brad started acting after retiring from the NFL in 1994, hanging up his cleats due to ankle injuries. He played his college ball at the University of Arizona before being drafted in 1989 by the New York Giants.
After sustaining injuries that forced him to retire from professional football in 1994, he began a career in acting and scored guest spots on such television series as “Chicago Hope,” “Silk Stockings,” “ER,” “Michael Hayes,” “Arli$$” and “The Pretender.”
His manager, Matt DelPiano, tells TMZ: “Brad was an incredibly kind man of joyous energy. A very talented actor, he loved being a part of this community….and we loved him back. Our thoughts are with his wife and family.”
