10 More Movie Villains Killed By Characters Nobody Expected

9. Colin Sullivan - The Departed

The Departed Matt Damon
Warner Bros.

The Departed's loathsome mole Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) certainly seemed ripe for a-killin' by the end of the movie, and those unfamiliar with the source material - Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs - likely assumed that he'd be done in by heroic undercover cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio).

But Billy is ultimately - and shockingly - killed before he can bring Sullivan to justice, let alone kill him. Yet just as it appears that Sullivan's going to get away with it all - as in the original film - he comes home to find Sgt. Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) waiting for him in his apartment with a pistol aimed square at his head.

Sullivan has no more than a few seconds to accept his impending demise before Dignam plugs him in the head and flees the scene. 

Given that Dignam disappears from the film a whole 30 minutes before the climax following the death of Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen), it was a genuine surprise to see him make a vengeful return in the story's final moments.

Plus, for anyone who's seen Infernal Affairs, they likely didn't expect Sullivan to die at all.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.