00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the actors who took issue
00:12with their characters' deaths, whether due to questionable creative choices, behind-the-scenes
00:17disputes, or the feeling that their story was cut too soon. Also, it goes without saying
00:23that there are definitely spoilers ahead.
00:54Flipping through a script gave the Woodsboro Sheriff an unexpected gut punch. After spending
00:59decades in the Scream franchise, David Arquette assumed the fifth entry was just another chapter
01:04in Dewey's story. Instead, it was a brutal send-off, which left the actor kind of pissed
01:09at the writers. They didn't give him a heads-up before he read the script, and shooting the
01:23scene sounded like a cold experience. Arquette found it hard to connect with the crew because
01:28of all the COVID restrictions, leaving him to essentially process his feelings alone. He did,
01:33however, say that he doesn't hold a grudge towards the filmmakers. Production was just
01:38a difficult thing for him to go through.
01:519. Bryan Cranston, Joe Brody, Godzilla
02:11This film had marketing that built up Cranston as the central focus, but the writers had different
02:17plans. Cranston's Joe Brody anchors the first half of the plot with grief, obsession, and a desperate
02:24need for answers. Then, just as the story finds its footing, he's abruptly killed during the MUTO
02:30containment collapse. Cranston didn't mince words about his feelings, frequently calling the decision
02:43a mistake and criticizing how poorly it was handled. He argued that his character was the story's
02:49emotional core, and that removing him was throwing that away. Even acknowledging the importance of
02:54his death, he maintained that the timing of it was still wrong. The criticisms are about as blunt
03:00as they can get.
03:02I can barely feel it. We're losing him. Joe, can you hear me? He's going at AFib. Give me another
03:07epi, one milligram. 40 units of vasopressin. Stay with us. Come on, Joe. Hang in there, buddy.
03:168. Scatman Crothers, Dick Holloran, The Shining
03:36Few moments feel as abrupt as a rescue that never gets to happen. Dick Holloran spends the entire film
03:43sensing Danny's danger and eventually travels back to the Overlook Hotel, only to be axed moments after
03:49arriving. For fans of Stephen King's original novel, it was a shocking deviation, and Crothers felt the
03:56same. He openly questioned Stanley Kubrick's change to the story. After all, the original screenplay did
04:02have Holloran survive an escape with Wendy and Danny. Considering Holloran is one of the story's only
04:08compassionate figures, cutting him down so suddenly didn't just sting audiences. It left the actor genuinely
04:15confused. Number 7. Frank Grillo, Rock Rumlow, AKA Crossbones, Captain America, Civil War.
04:47Signing on to the MCU usually means getting a multi-picture deal. That's why Frank Grillo was
04:53caught off guard when Crossbones went out in a blaze of glory in the opening act. After surviving the
04:58events of The Winter Soldier, the villain seemed poised to become a recurring threat,
05:03just as he is in the comics. Unfortunately, he was gone minutes into his next appearance.
05:19Grillo admitted that he was hurt by the decision, especially given that he was contracted for seven
05:25films. He would later make a reluctant cameo in Endgame, but only because his son asked him to.
05:32Grillo has also said that he moved to the DC universe because of his massive disappointments.
05:37At least, he's getting a lot of screen time under James Gunn's leadership.
05:41So, on Salvation, that's where we build the prison? No, no, Mr. Secretary, Salvation is the prison.
05:50Number 7. James Phelps, Fred Weasley, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1.
06:04Learning that your character dies can be a hard thing to process. Discovering it mid-travel on a
06:10relaxing train ride must be undeniably brutal. While reading the final Harry Potter book in Japan,
06:16Phelps was suddenly blindsided by Fred Weasley's death. He later recalled being a bit shell-shocked,
06:23realizing just how attached he'd become to the character over the years.
06:32The moment made him so distraught that when a ticket officer came around,
06:36he asked for a moment to process his death. We understand the heartbreak,
06:40given that he played the lighter half of the Weasley twins.
06:43How much for this? Five galleons. How much for me? Five galleons. I'm your brother.
06:51Ten galleons. Come on, let's go.
06:56Number 5. Marcus Chong, Tank, The Matrix.
07:02Believe it or not, you piece of shit, you're still gonna burn.
07:11One of Morpheus's most reliable crew members vanishes without a goodbye. Tank originally
07:17survives the film and plays a key role in helping Neo and the team navigate the Matrix. So,
07:22his absence in the sequels really feels jarring. Cut the hard line, it's a trap, get out!
07:28As it turns out, the character was killed off-screen following a salary dispute between
07:33Chong and the studio. The situation eventually went beyond negotiations and led to legal action
07:38and a very public fallout. Chong has never really let it go either, remaining vocal about how things
07:45were handled. It's hard to watch the sequels now without feeling the behind-the-scenes drama bleed
07:50onto the screen. Number 4. Michael Biehn, Dwayne Hicks, Alien 3.
08:15After surviving the horrors of aliens, Hicks was originally positioned to become
08:20a central figure moving forward. Alongside Ripley and Newt, he seemed like part of a trio of heroes
08:26we could get behind for the next entry. Instead, only Ripley was kept alive,
08:31with Newt and Hicks killed off between films.
08:40Bean was furious when he learned his likeness was being used without its knowledge,
08:45recalling how he discovered a dummy modeled after him with a chest burst wound. Although he was
08:51eventually compensated, the actor has remained openly critical, calling the decision ludicrous and
08:56stupid, along with some other colorful criticisms. Even James Cameron seems to hate the decision as much
09:03as being.
09:23Number 3. Christopher Lee, Saruman, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King.
09:30Your staff is broken.
09:39Dedicated Tolkien fans should be more than familiar with this villain's fates,
09:44stabbed by Grima Wormtongue before falling from the Tower of Orthanc.
09:48Casual viewers, however, may not actually know about this scene, since it was only shown in the film's
09:53extended cuts. This left some audiences confused about Saruman's disappearance. The least thrilled was
10:00Christopher Lee, who skipped the premiere after clashing with Peter Jackson over the decision.
10:14It didn't help that the two had already disagreed over the portrayal of Saruman's death. While Jackson
10:19wanted him to scream, Lee insisted that men usually sigh when stabbed in the back. The latter got what he
10:26wanted, and the two later reconciled, but Lee has said that he'll probably never understand why his big
10:32moment was ultimately cut.
10:34When the third film came on, I couldn't believe what I saw, because I wasn't in it.
10:44Number 2. Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker, Star Wars Episode 8, The Last Jedi.
10:52I had trouble accepting what he saw for Luke, but again, I mean, I have to say, having seen the
11:01movie,
11:02I was wrong. The beloved franchise has had a fair share of actors who didn't like their exits. Liam
11:08Neeson thinks Qui-Gon could have put up more of a fight, and Peter Cushing was so impressed with A
11:13New
11:13Hope that he wished Tarkin survived the climax. However, Mark Hamill is the one who arguably has
11:28been the most vocal about his stance. Luke's somber sacrifice didn't sit well with his vision
11:34for the sequels. He hoped to have a larger presence in the new trilogy, and meet a more dignified end
11:40in
11:40the ninth film. He's since softened his stance and praised both The Last Jedi and director Rian
11:46Johnson. Still, there's no denying his initial disagreements.
12:12Number 1. Sean Bean, Various Roles.
12:31At a certain point, dying on screen stops being dramatically rewarding and starts becoming boring.
12:37From Bormir in The Fellowship of the Ring to Alec Trevelyan in GoldenEye, Sean Bean built a reputation
12:43for playing characters who never make it to the end credits.
12:54While cinephiles have turned it into a running joke, Bean himself grew tired of the pattern.
12:59He's admitted to turning down roles because his character was scripted to die, noting that audiences
13:04had started expecting it the second he appears. At one point, he even claimed that if he refused to die,
13:11filmmakers would ask if they could at least severely injure him. In his shoes, we'd probably take what we
13:17could get.
13:18I was very good at them. And people, you know, really, not hated me, but they hated me that much.
13:25I think the studios thought that we've got to kill him and make sure he really is dead.
13:31Which of these characters would you have kept alive for the sequel?
13:35Tell us who you'd spare in the comments.
