5. Rory Cochrane - CSI: Miami
The announcement that Rory Cochrane, who played the genius level apathetic criminologist Tim Speedle in what was then the smash hit CBS series CSI: Miami, would be leaving the series in a body bag after two seasons plus one episode in the Miami-Dade crime lab introduced the general public to the politics and subsequent ugliness of Hollywood contract disputes. Cochrane had been unhappy with his shooting schedule and commuting from his home in New York to L.A. which ultimately led to his decision to leave the crime drama. The network, however, was less than pleased as Cochrane still had a couple more years left in his contract. He was eventually released from his contract, but his competition clause remained intact and he was barred from network television for several years after this. His character Tim Speedle met a rather boring end, gunned down in a jewelry store as his piece had jammed for the second time, making him 0 for 2 in that department. While Cochrane found other acting gigs in films and a TNT miniseries, it wouldn't be until 2009 when he was back on network television as Starkwood employee and Jonas Hodges' (Jon Voight) right hand man in the seventh season of 24.