10 Actors Who Are Done Playing These Characters

As with anything in this crazy ol' thing known as life, nothing lasts forever. Even in the often outrageous business of show.

Now sure, the fact actors are now able to be convincingly de-aged with increasing ease has paved the way for some of the most iconic movie and TV characters to pop back up time and time again in recent times - looking at you, Luke Skywalker.

But all the technology and money in the world still isn't enough to guarantee that an actor will be willing to get back in the saddle for one last rodeo as a character they have become entirely synonymous with.

And in the case of the following collection of stars who have brought countless hours of joy into fans' lives whilst breathing life into some of the most memorable characters ever to show up on the big or small screen, it does genuinely seem as though this is it.

Simply put, it's time to say goodbye to their versions of these hilarious, compelling, or just plain iconic figures... until they all decide to pull a Hugh Jackman and rock back up for one "final, final, properly, this is it, I'm done" appearance, of course.

For the longest time, it honesty felt as though no soul alive would be able to compete with the unquestionable brilliance of Sir Patrick Stewart in the role of the leader of the X-Men, Professor Charles Xavier.

But then a little prequel flick by the name of X-Men: First Class came along and proved that there was another cat capable of adding some fascinating new layers to this legendary telepath.

Yet, after rocking up as the X-wheeled icon on five different occasions over the years, it appears that James McAvoy is now quite happy to leave the Xavier-ing to Stewart going forward.

That's according to the actor himself, who noted during a recent interview with GQ that he's "quick to say 'No, I'm done. Or ‘I'm not that bothered about coming back.’ Because you move forward," when nudged on the idea of potentially tumbling out of the multiverse and into an upcoming MCU project.

Whether or not McAvoy follows a similar path to fellow mutant Hugh Jackman down the line and reverses his decision to move away from the Marvel Universe remains to be seen. But for now, this Scot appears to be all too happy to continue challenging himself outside of the superhero sphere.