10 Actors Who Begged For Their Character NOT To Die
2. Ian McElhinney - Game Of Thrones
Another Thrones star unhappy to bow out when he did, Ian McElhinney was one of the classiest and respected individuals on the HBO show both in and out of character. From his badass resignation from the Kingsguard, to his wise and competent advice and legislation as a right-hand man to Queen Daenerys, Ser Barristan Selmy was the man everyone had some amount of respect for.
From his very first introduction, it was clear to fans of the show that McElhinney was a class act for the show, impressing everyone by reading through all of the books, understanding the world in which the series was set in and putting these two things together to help flesh out his character even more.
Which, again, made his death feel like it came at the wrong time for both he and his fans. Whilst Varys and Tyrion were on their way to becoming Daenerys' new advisors, there was arguably a stage set where Barristan could have stepped into the void left by Jorah and become the Dragon Queen's main man.
McElhinney certainly felt so, believing that he had a little bit longer left on the show due to the fact that his character is still alive at the end of the fifth book. The Northern Irish actor went through a range of emotions, and apparently sat both Weiss and Benioff down to ask if he really had to go out when he did.