When a beloved character on TV or in a film we've been watching dies, we feel grief and bewilderment. Even actors don't learn about their character's death until they read the screenplay. Deaths in stories are integral to any high-stakes plot to maintain suspense and interest. However, there are situations when the death of a character is inevitable because of events off-screen.
A writer may be forced to kill off a character because an actors who want their characters killed or because of conflicts with other production team members. The death of some performers is even requested.
Today, we give you 7
actors who wanted their characters killed off, let's find out!
1. Harrison Ford in Star Wars: Episodes V and VII
Source: Star Wars
Harrison Ford requested that Hans Solo be killed off for the first film in the original trilogy. Not because he didn't like the character, but because "his sacrifice for the other characters would provide gravitas and emotional weight," this wish wasn't granted until Episode VII.
2. Bill Murray in Zombieland
Source. Bill Murray in Zombieland
Patrick Swayze was supposed to play
Bill Murray, but he had to decline because of his disease. Murray requested a change to the screenplay and gave us a bizarre cameo that ended similarly.
3. Dean Norris in Breaking Bad
Source: Breaking Bad
Since the final season of Breaking Bad hadn't been scripted before filming began, Dean requested to be written out midway through the season so that he could star in the pilot episode of a new series. Dean's new project went to someone else, and Hank stayed until the end.
4. Steven Yeun in The Walking Dead
Source: The Walking Dead
Before reading the script that included his character's death sequence, Steven had no desire for his character to die. The death of Robert Kirkman was so dramatic that Steven nailed the final scene.
5. Kit Harington in Game of Thrones
Source: Game of Thrones
Kit was excited to film his death sequence for several reasons, not the least because he had to keep the news of his impending demise a secret from the rest of the actors. Since his resurrection was also kept secret, by Season 8, Jon Snow had nothing to lose.
6. Sophie Turner in Game of Thrones
Source: Game of Thrones
Turner has publicly pondered how Sensa Stark would meet her maker and is convinced that all Game of Thrones characters will die tragically. She plans to have Sansa killed off by having Baelish take the Iron Throne. If you read between the lines, you can conclude that the actress is done with her present role.
7. Dan Stevens in Downton Abbey
Source: Downton Abbey
In the third and last season of
Downton Abbey, this actor was finally let go by the show's producers since he did not love his part. In a heartbreaking episode, Matthew finally got to meet his newborn baby before he tragically passed away.