When a character dies in a TV show, more often than not, fans aren’t the only ones who are devastated. Actors sometimes form a deep bond with the character they’re playing along with the cast and crew.
So it seems fair for the actors to be upset at times when their characters are killed off during shows. With this in mind, let us take a look at 10 such actors who were publicly devastated when their characters were killed off.
Related: Top 20 Saddest Deaths In TV History
10. Joe Pantoliano – ‘The Sopranos’
Watched and loved by many across the globe, ‘The Sopranos’ had been making headlines for 6 seasons since its pilot in 1999. So when the news of Joe Pantoliano’s character Ralph Cifaretto being killed off in the 4th season of the show reached Joe, he was visibly upset. He stormed off during a table read when he found out his character was being killed off.
The scene was later revealed by Dane Curley, who played Cifaretto’s son on the show. He recalled, “As soon as he [Pantoliano] realized he was getting whacked (maybe by reading a few pages ahead of where we were), he angrily shouted (at no one in particular, but presumably the writers) and stood up from the session. His phone went up to his ear so fast to call his agent, and he stormed off. As he did this, Tony Sirico (Paulie Walnuts) yelled back some choice words to him: something like, ‘Don’t let the door hit you’re a** on the way out!‘”
9. Mia Kirshner – ‘The L Word’
Mia Kirshner, who portrayed dark horse Jenny in ‘The L Word’, is yet another actress who publicly expressed her dissatisfaction with the way her character’s legacy was handled on X/Twitter after the cause of her character’s death was revealed in the sequel ‘Generation Q‘.
Kirshner wrote, “I just found out about what they did with the storyline today, and there is no way that I’m going to stay silent about this.”
Kirshner and many of her supporters expressed their displeasure when they learned that Jenny had committed suicide. She added, “I heard about her ‘suicide’ today and feel sick that this is how they dismiss the story about a survivor of sexual assault. So no. She’s not dead.”
8. Conleth Hill – ‘Game Of Thrones’
In the world of fantasy television, Conleth Hill’s character, Lord Varys, popularly known as the Spider, was well-known for maintaining a network of informers in the infamous TV Show ‘Game Of Thrones’.
Sadly, he is yet another actor who was unaware of his character’s sudden death, as evidenced by a videotape of his response during the last table read.
While talking to The Times, Hill shared, “I just felt frustrated with the last couple of series because Varys wasn’t the all-knowing character he had been.” He continued, “I think the writers wanted to do one thing to end it and the studio HBO wanted to do another. I felt that the last series was a bit rushed. I was inconsolable.”
But Hill seems to have since accepted his departure and later told the newspaper, “I’m fine about it now.”
In case you missed: 20 Saddest And Most Horrific Deaths On ‘Game of Thrones’ Ranked
7. Mark Sheppard – ‘Supernatural‘
Though being one of the main cast members in the past, tensions between Mark Sheppard and the show’s creators became public with the death of his egotistical character Crowley in the ‘Supernatural’ season 12 finale.
Jim Michaels, the show’s executive producer, hinted about Sheppard’s possible comeback on X/Twitter, writing, “Thanks for everything, Mark! We never say never to Mark!” To which Sheppard replied, “With all due respect, your comment is inaccurate and misleading to the fans. There are NO plans to have me return to SPN [Supernatural] at ANY juncture.”
6. Richard Madden – ‘Game Of Thrones‘
Season 3 of ‘Game Of Thrones’ brought in bad news for Richard Madden as his character was killed off in the infamous Red Wedding scene.
In an interview with GQ, the actor simply stated, “I just wanted to leave,” when asked how he felt about his character’s fate. “All I wanted was to leave.” Madden also said that he just “cried and sobbed… I was hysterical actually” as he boarded his flight home.“I was really worn out. I sobbed the entire way home.”
Madden did, however, feel “ready to leave” the show after five years, in contrast to some of the other actors on this list.
5. Emma Caulfield – ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer‘
Emma Caulfield is another actress who was unimpressed with not only her character Anya’s passing but also the reactions (or lack thereof) that it received.
Caulfield was noticeably irritated at the lack of response to her death on the show from viewers during a reunion for Buffy on Entertainment Weekly, “What I noticed about the finale was how little everybody cared that I died… I just think that’s kinda lame. I just think Anya garnered a little more, you know, sad face.”
Later, Caulfield wrote a eulogy for her Anya character for Entertainment Weekly, demonstrating how much the actor still loved the role, “Though she died without much fanfare (like, ‘Oh well, Anya’s dead, later!’), her courage, her legacy, her selflessness lives on. And that gives me something to sing about.”
4. Chandler Riggs – ‘The Walking Dead’
Chandler Riggs, who rose to prominence for his regular role as Carl Grimes on the AMC horror-drama television series ‘The Walking Dead’, was also in shock to hear about his character’s demise.
The Hollywood Reporter was informed by Riggs, who portrayed the troubled (and ultimately one-eyed) Carl Grimes, that “leaving Walking Dead wasn’t my decision.” The show has been such a significant part of Riggs’ life for so long that “it was quite the shocker… it was devastating for me and my family because the show has been such a huge part of my life for so long. For a few days, we didn’t know what to do.”
But for Riggs, leaving ultimately turned out to be a good thing because it allowed him to pursue “all kinds of other stuff that I haven’t been able to do in the past eight years.”
Related: Is ‘The Walking Dead’ Series Finale Different From Comic Book Ending?
3. Ian McElhinney – ‘Game Of Thrones‘
‘Game of Thrones’ is known for killing off characters in a sudden manner and Ian McElhinney was another victim of this phenomenon.
In Game of Thrones, McElhinney portrayed bodyguard Barristan Selmy. The public was shocked when he was killed off in season five because, according to the novels on which the show was based, he was still alive and well.
McElhinney stated, “I got the script first, and then it [Selmy’s death] was evidenced in the script, and then eventually the boys [the writers] gave me a ring. If I’m honest I was a bit dischuffed by that, because I felt I should’ve known, it wouldn’t have made a difference, but I felt as a matter of courtesy I should’ve known beforehand… I was disappointed.”
2. Laurie Holden – ‘The Walking Dead‘
Speaking of writers of shows taking a different route than taken in the books, Lourie Holden is yet another actress whose character who was alive and well in the books, was killed off during the TV show adaptation.
In the third season of ‘The Walking Dead’, Holden’s headstrong character Andrea is murdered, although Andrea has a much longer life in the comics. It was visible that Holden wasn’t too happy with the decision during a panel discussion at the fan gathering Walker Stalker Con: “I think the departure from book Andrea to the screen was a mistake… I think the whole stuff that they wrote about Andrea and the Governor was complete and utter nonsense.”
She went on to add, “There was so much beautiful narrative that was lost… she should have been there for a long time.”
In case you missed: Andrew Lincoln Thinks Glenn’s Gruesome Death In ‘The Walking Dead’ Was Over the Top, Actor Says “We Over-Egged The Omelette”
1. Nicollette Sheridan – ‘Desperate Housewives‘
When Nicolette Sheridan’s troublemaker Edie was killed off in ‘Desperate Housewives’, Sheridan was visibly not happy. Sheridan filed a lawsuit against ABC, Touchstone, and show creator Marc Cherry.
Sheridan told Entertainment Weekly in 2018 that she was struck in the head by Cherry, and once she complained about the incident, she was written off the show. “I was the victim of assault and battery on the set of Desperate Housewives by the creator of the show, my boss… I reported him and was retaliated against for doing so and fired. That is against the law,” she alleged.
In response, Cherry’s representatives said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly: “Nicolette Sheridan was not a victim at the hands of Marc Cherry — a court has already ruled to that effect after hearing the testimony of multiple witnesses. We are disappointed that the judicial determination continues to be ignored.”
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