(#13) Ruth Wilson
- 37
Fans of The Affair were shocked when they found out that one of the show’s leads, Ruth Wilson, decided to leave the series abruptly. The body of her character, Alison, was found toward the end of the drama’s fourth season. What initially was thought to be self-inflicted was revealed to be a homicide, but one thing was for sure - Wilson was out for good.
“I did want to leave, but I'm not allowed to talk about why,” Wilson said on CBS This Morning. The actor was quoted a few months earlier saying that she makes less than costar Dominic West. However, during the same CBS This Morning appearance, Wilson admitted that she never complained to the network abut pay parity. Perhaps we’ll never know.
(#12) Daniel Gillies
- 42
Filming a TV show can be time-consuming - and when you’re doing two at the same time, things get exhausting quickly. At least that was the case for actor Daniel Gillies, who decided to leave supernatural drama Saving Hope at the end of Season 3.
Gillies played Dr. Joel Goran, one of the central characters of the series. Some context: the actor lives in the US, Saving Hope filmed in Canada. Gillies was also on The Originals at the time and he admitted that he couldn’t take the crazy schedule anymore, so he asked the showrunners of Saving Hope to let him leave:
It was a decision that was very difficult to make. I spoke to my representation and I said, ‘Look. I think we should have this discussion because I have a wife that’s American and I have a daughter that’s an American. Soon I’m going to have another son, he’s going to be an American boy. For all intents and purposes we live in the United States. And this is my home.’ Los Angeles is my home and it was a hard… put it this way. Most actors who are No. 2 on the callsheet of any show with anywhere between 18 and 22 episodes a year are exhausted from the one show. I was doing 40-42 episodes of TV a year, bouncing between two shows. Between The Originals and Saving Hope I was just exhausted.
(#10) Connie Britton
- 51
Connie Britton was one of the two leads of musical drama Nashville. She played Rayna Jaymes, a popular country singer whose career is starting to show signs of winding down. Britton received critical acclaim for the role but eventually decided that it was time to move on to different things. “It was something that had been percolating over time, and there were lots of different reasons behind it. But my priority was really making sure that the timing was right,” Britton said.
Her character, Rayna, flat-lines in the ICU due to injuries sustained during a car collision. It happens in Season 5’s ninth episode, "If Tomorrow Never Comes." Britton eventually returned for a cameo on Nashville’s series finale.
(#3) T. R. Knight
- 45
On popular medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, T.R. Knight played George O’Malley, one of the more central characters in the show’s early seasons. As the series progressed, however, Knight’s screen time was reduced, which reportedly made the actor unhappy. Add in a “breakdown of communication” with showrunner Shonda Rhimes, and Knight decided to ask to leave instead of trying to figure out what was going on.
“My five-year experience proved to me that I could not trust any answer that was given [about George],” the actor told EW. Rhimes granted his wish and during the Season 6 premiere, O'Malley got straight-up hit by a bus.
(#5) Raymond Cruz
- 57
On hit drama Breaking Bad, Raymond Cruz played Tuco Salamanca, a psychotic kingpin. He was introduced in Season 1 and stayed on until Season 2 when he was shot in the head by Hank in the episode "Grilled."
According to the actor, he asked to be shot because he found the part extremely difficult - though he was ultimately pleased with his final scene.
Honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to coming back and doing the part. [Laughs]. It’s really difficult to pull off. They were like, 'We want you to come back and do eight more episodes.' And I said, 'No. I’ll do one more and that’s it. You guys have to kill me.' They’re like, 'We never heard of an actor that wanted to die.' And I’m like, 'You don’t understand. This part’s really hard.'"
(#7) Dan Stevens
- 36
Many fans were outraged when Matthew Crawley had a sudden car accident at the end of Downton Abbey’s third series, moments after the birth of his child. Turns out, the actor portraying him, Dan Stevens, wanted a chance to pursue other projects.
“We were always optioned for three years. And when that came up it was a very difficult decision. But it felt like a good time to take stock, to take a moment. From a personal point of view, I wanted a chance to do other things,” Stevens said. Since leaving Downton Abbey, the actor has appeared in a variety of movies and TV shows. Most notably, he starred as Beast in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and plays the lead in the critically acclaimed series Legion.
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About This Tool
Death is a part of life, and it is also the destiny of some characters. Whether you are watching anime or a movie, some characters may die. Sometimes, the death of a respected hero always makes us cry, sometimes, we are happy that an evil and awesome villain has been defeated, but we still sadly see him die.
However, not every death in movies will make us feel depressed. In some cases, we are totally uplifting, and it's great to see them get what they deserve. Death may become the climax or turning point of the plot, and some actors have a unique understanding of their roles. The random tool introduced 14 actors who asked to kill their characters to quit the shows.
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