10 Actors Who Demanded To Be Killed Off Popular TV Shows

For these performers, the sweet release couldn't come sooner.

Jessalyn Gilsig - Vikings
MGM

Few things hit harder in the world of TV than the death of a popular character.

Some of the greatest and saddest moments in the history of the small screen have come when a beloved member of the cast gets binned off in tragic fashion. Death can be a fantastic way of furthering a plot, adding wrinkles to other characters, or providing a definitive ending to the arc of the person who lost their life.

Ultimately, it is the show's writers who have all the power when it comes to who lives and dies, but sometimes the actors portraying the characters have some say over when they get to bow out.

The following ten performers all requested that their alter egos bite the dust and, for the most part, their wishes were granted.

Some felt it's what their character deserved, some thought it would help advance the story, whilst some were just totally fed up with coming into work every day.

Whatever the reason, if you were someone who got mad when these deaths went down, address those angry letters and tweets to the actors, not the people working behind the scenes.

10. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje - Lost

The show that had everyone questioning everything, Lost remains a strong talking point amongst TV lovers even though it wrapped up in 2010.

The island was full of memorable characters - Jack, Sawyer, that bird that yelled at Hurley that one time - but few had as big an impact in such a short space of time than Mr. Eko.

Portrayed by British actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Eko was a Nigerian former drug lord turned priest who ended up stuck on the island after Flight 815 went down. The strong and silent type, Eko became a firm favourite as he was the one most comfortable with life on the island.

The irony of that statement is that, in real life, Akinnuoye-Agbaje was far from content.

The actor had moved out to Hawaii to film the show, but really didn't like being there. He wanted to move home to London, and so asked for his character to be removed from the show.

Producers Damon Lindeloff and Carlton Cuse gave in to his demands for the character to receive a tragic death, having him brutally murdered by the smoke monster.

Christ, tell us how you really feel about him leaving.

In this post: 
Vikings
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.