10 Actors Who Walked Off Huge TV Shows (And Why)
8. David Caruso Leaves Without Saying Goodbye - NYPD Blue
Saying goodbye to a character you've been attached to for a decent amount of time is never easy. Unless your name is David Caruso, that is, as the actor infamously decided to ride off into the sunset without so much as a "catch ya later!" back in 1995.
On the back of some tough negotiations over a proposed pay rise and some significant new bonuses after picking up a Golden Globe Award for his work as Detective John Kelly on NYPD Blue, the showrunners eventually agreed to terminate Caruso's contract if he agreed to show up for four episodes of Season Two so they could effectively write-off the character.
Sure enough, that's exactly what happened, but that still couldn't prepare Caruso's fellow cast members for what happened next.
According to one of the show's creators Steven Bochco, once Caruso had wrapped his last scene on the show, involving him walking out of the 15th Precinct's doors for the last time, he genuinely turned his back on the entire production and wasn't seen of again. In Bochco's words:
"When he had shot his last scene of the fourth episode, he turned without a word and left the set, the stage and the lot. He didn't say a single word of thanks or a goodbye to his castmates — nothing."