“We Owed It To The Fans To Break Their Hearts One Last Time”: 19 Actors Who Asked For Their Character To Be Killed Off Their Show Or Movie

1.

Christian Serratos requested for her character Rosita to be killed within the collection finale of The Strolling Lifeless as a result of she felt it “made sense for Rosita” and gave her (Serratos) closure. She additionally stated, “I simply actually needed individuals to have that emotional expertise in our finale, particularly. I believe a present that was about presumably shedding your family members, you need to lose any individual on the finish. I do know it sounds so darkish, however I really feel just like the present, we owed it to the followers to interrupt their hearts one final time, if that is smart.”

2.

In line with John Wick producer Basil Iwanyk, Keanu Reeves begged to be definitively killed off on the finish of John Wick: Chapter 4 .“After the second, third, and fourth film, making these movies is so exhausting and it destroys Keanu, bodily and emotionally,” Iwanyk stated. “By the tip, he’s all the time like, ‘I can’t do that once more,’ and we agree with him. The man is only a shell of himself as a result of he simply goes off and goes for it. He was like, ‘I wanna be definitively killed on the finish of this film.’” Producers disagreed and left the ending barely ambiguous, with Iwanyk saying. “We have been like, ‘You understand, we’ll go away a ten% little opening.”

3.

In a single instance the place the actor’s request was not obliged, Alan Ruck requested that his character Connor Roy be killed off Succession after feeling like he wasn’t doing a lot. “Within the first seasons I had just a few issues to do, after which within the second season I had some inane Connor-isms, some interjections, however I didn’t even have a one-on-one scene with anyone. Everybody was like, ‘That is one of the best present on TV,’ and other people didn’t even know I used to be on it. So I requested to be killed off, they usually stated, ‘No, no, no, we’d like you.’ Mark Mylod [an executive producer and director] wrote one thing humorous about how Jeremy Piven’s character on Entourage was not presupposed to be a lot in any respect after which it grew over time. And Connor did develop over time; it simply sort of took till the tip of the third season.”

4.

Whereas we do not have affirmation from Joe Manganiello himself, an insider informed Hollywood Life that he needed his character Alcide to be killed off True Blood. “Joe introduced as much as the producers that he needed to be killed off as a result of he needs extra out of his profession then simply being generally known as being the man on True Blood. The producers gave him his want as a result of when he introduced it up, it was earlier than the ultimate season was introduced.”

5.

Whereas Kate Mara did not essentially ask to be killed off Home of Playing cards, she clearly needed her character Zoe to die — her character’s dying was one of many most important causes she took the position. “I knew from the second I accepted the position that I used to be solely contracted for 14 episodes and would have a grisly dying firstly of the second season. I in all probability would not have signed on in any other case. … I used to be able to go and preferred that I obtained such a definitive ending.”

6.

Samuel L Jackson’s character was all the time meant to die in Deep Blue Sea, however he died sooner than deliberate at Jackson’s personal request. His character’s monologue was initially “seven pages of the worst dialogue you’ve ever heard in your life.” based on visible results supervisor Jeff Okun, who, with Jackson, got here up with the concept of getting his speech lower off by Jackson’s character’s dying so he would not need to say the traces. Jackson even informed Okun, “Simply kill me. The earlier you kill me, the happier I’ll be.” He ended up butting heads with director Renny Harlin, however finally obtained his means when the film was recut to be extra of a comedy.

7.

Raymond Cruz revealed in an interview with AMC that he requested the Breaking Unhealthy writers to kill his character Tuco after first showing ultimately of Season 1 of the present. “Actually, I wasn’t wanting ahead to coming again and doing the half. It’s actually troublesome to drag off,” Cruz revealed. “They have been like, ‘We wish you to return again and do eight extra episodes.’ And I stated, ‘No. I’ll do yet another, and that’s it. You guys need to kill me.’ They’re like, ‘We by no means heard of an actor that needed to die.’ And I’m like, ‘You don’t perceive. This half’s actually arduous.’”

8.

Liev Schreiber requested Kevin Williamson (who wrote the unique Scream) to be killed off the Scream franchise after showing briefly within the first movie and in a bigger position within the second movie — and later regretted it. “All I keep in mind was considering, ‘You understand, this man’s sort of a ham,'” Schreiber revealed. “At that time in my profession, I did not actually absolutely perceive the worth of being in a franchise. To be frank, I used to be like, ‘Let me get out of this whereas I can. Get out whereas issues are going properly.’ And I simply thought it will be enjoyable to be one of many iconic kills from the highest. I used to be working and doing lots of stuff, lots of different stuff in New York, and theater, and I used to be like, ‘What number of instances can I play this character?’ And now, I understand, which you could play that character as many instances as they need you to.”

9.

Charlton Heston was not eager on the concept of a sequel to Planet of the Apes, and solely agreed to seem in Beneath the Planet of the Apes if his character was killed off within the first scene. He was later satisfied to easily disappear within the first scene, and die on the finish of the movie. It was even Heston’s concept that Taylor ought to activate a doomsday bomb, dying together with the remainder of Earth, in order that the collection could not proceed. After all, it did, and Heston later stated, “I believed I’d been very intelligent, however in fact, they have been cleverer than I used to be, as a result of they managed to maintain occurring anyway.”

10.

Duane Jones advocated for his character to die on the finish of Evening of the Residing Lifeless when producers began contemplating a happier ending. “I satisfied George that the Black group would quite see me lifeless than saved, in any case that had gone on, in a corny and symbolically complicated means.” He continued, “The heroes by no means die in American films. The jolt of that and the double jolt of the hero determine being Black appeared like a double-barreled whammy.”

11.

Director J.C. Chandor revealed that Ben Affleck requested to be killed in the course of Triple Frontier. The dying was initially meant to go to a secondary character, however Affleck thought he may get the studio to agree to vary it to him. Chandor was on board: “I spotted it was so neat that as an alternative of it being the man that ought to have died, it was the man that shouldn’t have, in a means. Although he’s the chief, and he ought to have identified higher.” Affleck added, “I believed that will be attention-grabbing and I needed to see any individual truly pay a worth for what occurred. I all the time preferred To Reside and Die in L.A., how Invoice Peterson’s character died. It sort of takes you off guard. I needed to do the identical factor. … It highlights the danger to individuals’s lives. It focuses on the mortality query and theme, which I believe is actually attention-grabbing.”

12.

Bruce Lee additionally reportedly advocated for his character to die on the finish of Fist of Fury, which was not the unique ending. Lee felt that his character Chen ought to die so as to present justice was not one-sided (contemplating Chen’s murders within the movie), however needed him to die with honor.

13.

It is unclear if John Diehl requested to be killed off Miami Vice, however he did ask to go away the present after feeling he “didn’t have a lot to do,” and known as his character Larry Zito dying “the suitable option to get me out of it.” He continued, “It’s higher than simply writing me out, having me stop (the police drive) or one thing. It’ll additionally appeal to consideration; they’ll advertise. However I needed to get killed to get out of my very own present!”

14.

We’ll have to attend and see if this request is honored, however apparently, Michael Douglas needs Hank Pym to die if there is a fourth Ant-Man movie. In reality, he informed The Hollywood Reporter he’d solely come again to the franchise “so long as I may die.”

15.

And Maya Hawke needs Robin to die in Stranger Issues Season 5. “It’s the final season, so persons are in all probability going to die. I might like to die and get my hero’s second,” she informed Rolling Stone. “I’d like to die with honor, as any actor would.” Nonetheless, she additionally stated she appreciates the best way the Duffer brothers “love their actors” and “don’t need to kill them. I believe that’s an exquisite high quality that they’ve, and I wouldn’t want it away.”

16.

Gareth Thomas reportedly “insisted” his character Blake die on Season 2 of Blake’s 7. He did find yourself returning for the finale, throughout which he once more died, however it’s rumored he added further blood packs beneath his costume to make his dying extra definitive so he would not be requested to return if the collection continued in any means.

17.

Ben Miller requested to be killed off the British-French collection Dying in Paradise, his costar Ralf Little revealed on Twitter, saying his dying was “at Ben’s request I imagine. The legend goes he needed to ensure he couldn’t come again.” Miller had beforehand claimed he left as a consequence of eager to spend extra time along with his younger kids, saying “My private circumstances simply made it too difficult.”

18.

Nicola Duffet revealed she ran to the script editor’s workplace and “begged” to be killed off Eastenders. “I ran in crying, ‘Kill me NOW! I am unable to stand it.’ As a result of the half was so boring. I performed this simpering wimp, Debbie. All I did was stroll into the Vic and say, ‘The place’s Nigel?'” she obtained her want, and her character was killed offscreen in a highway accident.

19.

Within the British collection, Waking the Lifeless, Claire Goose requested for her character Mel Silver to be killed off in Season 4. “I did ask that. They [the producers] have been like ‘Actually, do we have now to kill you off?’ and I used to be like ‘Yeah, go on, simply do it’.” She additionally revealed her character was initially presupposed to be killed within the pilot so her character’s life had truly been prolonged fairly a bit.