But this isn’t always the case. Whether it be because they’ve decided to take care of personal issues or they’ve been offered an attractive, challenging role, it’s not uncommon for actors to approach screenwriters to have their characters killed off.
Here’s a list of beloved characters whose perpetrator happened to be the performer who initially brought them to life. (Warning: spoilers ahead!)
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Given Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s success, Emma Caulfield feared that the show wouldn’t come to an end as soon as she expected.“I asked Joss to kill Anya. It was a pretty sure thing that we weren’t going to go past season 7, but there was an opportunity that we could. During that period, I let them know I was ready to move on to something else, whatever that may be,” the actress explained.Director Joss Whedon made Anya Jenkins sacrifice herself during an epic battle against the First Evil, a death Caulfield referred to as “poetic.”
How can we forget about the mid-season finale of Hank’s realization? While that iconic Breaking Bad scene might be hard to top, the one of his demise in the desert has earned a clear spot on the list of top-five moments from the popular AMC crime show.Few fans know that Dean Norris, the actor behind the fearless DEA agent, asked creator Vince Gilligan to have his character killed in the first half of the last season.“I called Vince Gilligan and said, ‘Hey man, maybe Hank should die in the first eight. Wouldn’t that be a great ending?’”Norris said during a 2013 interview on set.Since the actor had a pilot to film, he wished to prioritize his new project. Gilligan denied his request and made him wait until episode 14 of the season.Norris reprised his role during season five of Breaking Bad’s spinoff, Better Call Saul. When one of the characters is arrested, Jimmy McGill (aka Saul Goodman) negotiates with Schrader to make him a DEA informant.
The actress departed from her role as Lexie, the younger half-sister of Meredith, at the end of season 8 aftersitting down with creator Shonda Rhimes. Grey’s Anatomy fans saw Lexie’s demise in a plane crash and were later able to catch her on shows like Supergirl and The Way Home.Leigh, who departed from the medical drama series to spend more time with her family, returned to Grey’s as a special guest in season 17.
Interestingly, Glover referred to his last scene on the hit HBO fantasy show as“a damn good scene” and “exactly the sort of way I wanted to go out.”The actor behind the Grand Maester of the Citadel exited the series because he was dissatisfied with his role and was no longer enjoying himself.
From corrupt cop to improvisational comedian, fans of Lucifer saw quite a metamorphosis regarding Detective Dan Espinoza. Most likely ignore thatit was Alejandro’s idea to have his character murderedin the fifth season, just when the audience was starting to feel sympathy towards him.
Zombie series enthusiasts know that nobody is safe during the apocalypse, not even main characters. Jesus’ death came after Payne pointed out that not many characters were dying during fights with the Saviors. Of course,the English actor volunteeredfor Jesus to be murdered.Payne’s character appeared in flashback form during season 9 of the AMC series.
As opposed to many of her colleagues, Gilsig’s main reason for leaving the History Channel drama was tofocus on family-related issues.Siggy Haraldson’s death came in season 3 while trying to save Ragnar’s sons from falling into a frozen pond.
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Given that Gillies was “exhausted” from simultaneously filming Saving Hope and The Originals,he asked to be killed offthe former show at the start of season 3. Dr. Joel Goran died while saving a patient from a bomb.
Daniel Greyson passed away in the soap drama when he sacrificed his life to save Emily Thorne. Bowman had been trying to leave the soap drama since season 3,arguing that his character had “flip-flopped.”
Madekwe wished for her character to die in a“blaze of glory” while wearing a Chanel or Valentino haute couture piece. However, the producers of Revenge had other plans for Ashley Davenport and made her leave the Hamptons instead.
Mysterious villain “A” attempted to murder Spencer on several occasions throughout the teen dramas’ seven seasons. Troian Bellisario isn’t that glad she failed.In an interview with W magazine, the actress confessed that she wanted Spencer to get killed off because “on our show, your character becomes infinitely more interesting when you die.”
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Aivaras Kaziukonis
Entertainment