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After Being Killed 23 Times Sean Bean Refuses To Die On Screen Again By Rejecting Some Roles
You probably know Sean Bean as the actor who dies in every movie or TV series he plays in. Ned Stark in The Game of Thrones? Dead. Boromir in The Lord of the Rings? Dead. Alec in GoldenEye? Dead. And the list goes on – but not any more. The actor who died a whole 23 times on screen says he won’t be taking up any more roles where the character he plays dies.
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In an interview with The Sun, the 60-year-old actor said he has turned down roles because people would know his character is going to die.
“I just had to cut that out and start surviving, otherwise it was all a bit predictable,” said Bean.
“I did do one job and they said, ‘We’re going to kill you’, and I was like, ‘Oh no!’ and then they said, ‘Well, can we injure you badly?’ and I was like, ‘OK, so long as I stay alive this time’,” joked the actor.
“I’ve played a lot of baddies, they were great but they weren’t very fulfilling — and I always died,” added Bean.
It’s not just the actor that’s fed up with his characters always dying – Bean’s fans were also tired of seeing the actor die, even starting the viral #dontkillseanbean campaign back in 2014.
Bean’s last on-screen death was on the set of Game of Thrones back 2011, when the character he played, Ned Stark, was beheaded, meaning the actor has remained death-free for almost nine years.
Let’s hope we see more of Sean Bean’s characters surviving in the future!
Here’s the full list of Sean Bean characters who have died:
Ranuccio “Caravaggio” (1986)
German Soldier “War Requiem” (1989)
Tadgh McCabe “The Field” (1990)
Carver Doone “Lorna Doone” (1990)
[Robert Lovelace “Clarissa” (1991)
Gabriel Lewis “Screen One: Tell Me That You Love Me” (1991)
Sean Miller”Patriot Games” (1992)
Lord Richard Fenton “Scarlett” (1994)
Alec Trevelyan “Goldeneye” (1995)
Dave Toombs “Airborne” (1998)
Jason Locke “Essex Boys” (2000)
Patrick Koster “Don’t Say a Word” (2001)
Boromir “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001)
Cleric Errol Partridge”Equilibrium” (2002)
Robert Aske “Henry VIII” (2003)
Dr. Merrick “The Island” (2005)
John Ryder “The Hitcher” (2007)
Bryant “Outlaw” (2007)
Loki “Far North” (2007)
John Dawson “Red Riding: 1974” (2008)
Pyke Kubic / Reese Kubic “Ca$h” (2010)
Ulrich”Black Death” (2010)
Markus Kane “Death Race 2” (2010)
Jones “Age of Heroes” (2011)
Lord Eddard “Ned” Stark “Game of Thrones: Baelor” (2011)
Harry “Silent Hill: Revelation” (2012)
Frank Stinson “Wicked Blood” (Bad Blood) (2014)
Inspector John Marlott “The Frankenstein Chronicles: Lost and Found” (2015)
Regis Lucis Caelum “Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV” (2016; animated)
Here’s how people reacted
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Skarlet Panda 6 years ago
A very underrated movie with Sean Bean and Christian Bale is Equilibrium. Thought provoking, action packed semi-prophetic (looking at the times) movie...and yes *SPOILER ALERT!* Sean Been dies. XD
Reilly Beryll 6 years ago
Have you seen Black Death? It’s pretty good (I think, but I may be alone in that)
Load More Replies...
R.s. Potter 6 years ago
Sean should play an immortal vampire. He can not-die for hundreds of years.
Sveta Smirnova 6 years ago
But if buffy in the same movie, it might be different
Load More Replies...
Full Name 6 years ago
He should insist on dying in every movie. Romantic comedy? Dies. Cameo in an indie film as the friendly neighbour? Dies. Ends up on Conan? Dies. Also, how the hell is this guy 60? I assume all the photos are from 2003.
Pretty Pangolin 6 years ago
Doesn't he look great? I think he was sort of 'pretty' when younger, now looks all manly.
Load More Replies...
Greg Rohrbough 6 years ago
You forgot the last episode of Season 2 of The Medici (2018), where Bean's character is hanged from the city walls, and of course when Martin Septim (voiced by Sean Bean) sacrifices himself to stop the Daedric lord Mehrunes Dagon at the end of Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion (2006)...
Jolene Oldham 6 years ago
That is the nerdiest comment I've read all week! <3 You rock!
Load More Replies...
Nicky OldfieldDesciple 6 years ago (edited)
I loved him in the TV mini series Lady Chatterley's Lover. He played the game keeper Oliver Mellors. He didn't die and you get to see him naked. (Look, I'm a red blooded female, please don't judge.😊)
Dee Jones 6 years ago
Watch him as Richard Sharpe (the "Sharpe" series of BBC telemovies based on books by Bernard Cornwall). Not only does he not die, but spectacularly defies the odds to live!
Marcellus the Third 6 years ago
Was my immediate thought too: He made a Faustian bargain, he got famous/known by improbably not-dying, and has been paying for that bargain ever since (well, until 2011).
Load More Replies...
Sean Harrison 6 years ago
I hate this meme. He's only died in about 1/3 of the works he's been in. There are other actors, like Lance Henriksen, that have died on-screen way more times than Sean Bean has.
Pretty Pangolin 6 years ago
Lance Henriksen is awesome. I saw him on an episode of Face Off, and he's finally looking old. He looked pretty much the same for decades.
Load More Replies...
Lia Felis 6 years ago
Hey, the list is not complete, his character, Martin Septim (he was the character's voice actor) died in the Elder's Scolls IV. Oblivion videogame :'D
Sadie Jayne 6 years ago
I love him! Alive or dead, he is still (and always will be) in my top 5 actors of all time!
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 6 years ago
Ahh man I was hoping Sean Bean was going to break John Hurt's record. Nothing wrong with dying on screen, and he does it so well.
Asi Bassey 6 years ago
He even died in an animation? That's a new low. But what about The Martian, he didn't die there, infact he saved Watney...and thw movie got several oscar nominations
Mosheh Wolf 6 years ago
Sorry, the late great John Hurt is still the man who has died the most times on screen. He died 43 times, though I'm not sure if they counted his tenure as the Doctor on Dr Who, since he didn't actually die, but was regenerating. I also do not think that Sean Bean has ever had such gruesome deaths as John Hurt - chestburster, anyone?
Jake Corbett 6 years ago
Wait he survived his Silent Hill role though; The character dies in the games, but he lives in the movie
Grace Skerp 6 years ago
Unless he was hit in the head with golf ball off screen, he didn't die in The Martian.
Sarah Schmidt 6 years ago
Idea #1: a film about an immortal actor, played by bean, who comes back every time he's tragically killed since the start of filmhistory #2 humankind had come to an end due to ignorant climate politics executed by humanities own leaders and only one tragic hero is still alive wandering the toxic wasteland he once called home searching for the meaning of life
Caroline Driver 6 years ago
He didn't die in Jupiter Ascending, although perhaps he might wish he had/
Odin Black 6 years ago
you forgot the stoner sereis on bbc were he dies as well called wasted haha :-)
Jazmin Tully 6 years ago
He didn't die in Troy! As Odysseus, he was the one alive at the end! Miracle
Pamela Porosky 6 years ago
Don't forget The Frankenstein Chronicles' John Marlott! Great series if you haven't seen it.
Dilly Millandry 6 years ago
Saw him play Macbeth in London - he was amazing but, of course, Macbeth dies.
Terence Winkless 6 years ago
He didn't die in Troy, but Ulysses had a heckuva time getting home.
Beth Brownell 6 years ago
I have a book that if it becomes a movie, he can star as Prince Theodric in The Sword Princess: Cathene's Journey. He doesn't die at all in the three books that he would star in.
Rick Sexton 6 years ago
Also of note, he did some voice work for the first Elusive Target in Hitman 2 2018 as Mark “The Undying” Fava.
D. Pitbull 6 years ago
LOL - the actor appears to have a great sense of humour <3... even when Billy Boyd (Pippin from LotR) came to a convention and did a Q&A panel here a few years back...even HE was saying things like (paraphrased): The one where Sean Bean dies? He... he dies a lot, doesn't he? - and then said something to the effect that we (as fans/people) should speak up to have Sean Bean NOT die.
Shawnette Boggs Burger 6 years ago
2018 series Medici the Magnificent. He played Jacopo de' Pazzi. He was hung by Lorenzo de' Medici. Just watched this last night.
Pretty Pangolin 6 years ago
'Jupiter Ascending,' I think? Think he survived that one.
Load More Replies...
Cherie of Numenor 6 years ago
When I read Game of Thrones, before the series ever came out on HBO, I could not believe his character died, I had to read on another hundred or so pages before I could truly accept that he was dead....and so began the author killing off people that you least expected....
Petri Häkkinen 6 years ago
Charlize Theron has died as many times as Bean in half as many movies.
Skarlet Panda 6 years ago
A very underrated movie with Sean Bean and Christian Bale is Equilibrium. Thought provoking, action packed semi-prophetic (looking at the times) movie...and yes *SPOILER ALERT!* Sean Been dies. XD
Reilly Beryll 6 years ago
Have you seen Black Death? It’s pretty good (I think, but I may be alone in that)
Load More Replies... R.s. Potter 6 years ago
Sean should play an immortal vampire. He can not-die for hundreds of years.
Sveta Smirnova 6 years ago
But if buffy in the same movie, it might be different
Load More Replies... Full Name 6 years ago
He should insist on dying in every movie. Romantic comedy? Dies. Cameo in an indie film as the friendly neighbour? Dies. Ends up on Conan? Dies. Also, how the hell is this guy 60? I assume all the photos are from 2003.
Pretty Pangolin 6 years ago
Doesn't he look great? I think he was sort of 'pretty' when younger, now looks all manly.
Load More Replies... Greg Rohrbough 6 years ago
You forgot the last episode of Season 2 of The Medici (2018), where Bean's character is hanged from the city walls, and of course when Martin Septim (voiced by Sean Bean) sacrifices himself to stop the Daedric lord Mehrunes Dagon at the end of Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion (2006)...
Jolene Oldham 6 years ago
That is the nerdiest comment I've read all week! <3 You rock!
Load More Replies... Nicky OldfieldDesciple 6 years ago (edited)
I loved him in the TV mini series Lady Chatterley's Lover. He played the game keeper Oliver Mellors. He didn't die and you get to see him naked. (Look, I'm a red blooded female, please don't judge.😊)
Dee Jones 6 years ago
Watch him as Richard Sharpe (the "Sharpe" series of BBC telemovies based on books by Bernard Cornwall). Not only does he not die, but spectacularly defies the odds to live!
Marcellus the Third 6 years ago
Was my immediate thought too: He made a Faustian bargain, he got famous/known by improbably not-dying, and has been paying for that bargain ever since (well, until 2011).
Load More Replies... Sean Harrison 6 years ago
I hate this meme. He's only died in about 1/3 of the works he's been in. There are other actors, like Lance Henriksen, that have died on-screen way more times than Sean Bean has.
Pretty Pangolin 6 years ago
Lance Henriksen is awesome. I saw him on an episode of Face Off, and he's finally looking old. He looked pretty much the same for decades.
Load More Replies... Lia Felis 6 years ago
Hey, the list is not complete, his character, Martin Septim (he was the character's voice actor) died in the Elder's Scolls IV. Oblivion videogame :'D
Sadie Jayne 6 years ago
I love him! Alive or dead, he is still (and always will be) in my top 5 actors of all time!
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 6 years ago
Ahh man I was hoping Sean Bean was going to break John Hurt's record. Nothing wrong with dying on screen, and he does it so well.
Asi Bassey 6 years ago
He even died in an animation? That's a new low. But what about The Martian, he didn't die there, infact he saved Watney...and thw movie got several oscar nominations
Mosheh Wolf 6 years ago
Sorry, the late great John Hurt is still the man who has died the most times on screen. He died 43 times, though I'm not sure if they counted his tenure as the Doctor on Dr Who, since he didn't actually die, but was regenerating. I also do not think that Sean Bean has ever had such gruesome deaths as John Hurt - chestburster, anyone?
Jake Corbett 6 years ago
Wait he survived his Silent Hill role though; The character dies in the games, but he lives in the movie
Grace Skerp 6 years ago
Unless he was hit in the head with golf ball off screen, he didn't die in The Martian.
Sarah Schmidt 6 years ago
Idea #1: a film about an immortal actor, played by bean, who comes back every time he's tragically killed since the start of filmhistory #2 humankind had come to an end due to ignorant climate politics executed by humanities own leaders and only one tragic hero is still alive wandering the toxic wasteland he once called home searching for the meaning of life
Caroline Driver 6 years ago
He didn't die in Jupiter Ascending, although perhaps he might wish he had/
Odin Black 6 years ago
you forgot the stoner sereis on bbc were he dies as well called wasted haha :-)
Jazmin Tully 6 years ago
He didn't die in Troy! As Odysseus, he was the one alive at the end! Miracle
Pamela Porosky 6 years ago
Don't forget The Frankenstein Chronicles' John Marlott! Great series if you haven't seen it.
Dilly Millandry 6 years ago
Saw him play Macbeth in London - he was amazing but, of course, Macbeth dies.
Terence Winkless 6 years ago
He didn't die in Troy, but Ulysses had a heckuva time getting home.
Beth Brownell 6 years ago
I have a book that if it becomes a movie, he can star as Prince Theodric in The Sword Princess: Cathene's Journey. He doesn't die at all in the three books that he would star in.
Rick Sexton 6 years ago
Also of note, he did some voice work for the first Elusive Target in Hitman 2 2018 as Mark “The Undying” Fava.
D. Pitbull 6 years ago
LOL - the actor appears to have a great sense of humour <3... even when Billy Boyd (Pippin from LotR) came to a convention and did a Q&A panel here a few years back...even HE was saying things like (paraphrased): The one where Sean Bean dies? He... he dies a lot, doesn't he? - and then said something to the effect that we (as fans/people) should speak up to have Sean Bean NOT die.
Shawnette Boggs Burger 6 years ago
2018 series Medici the Magnificent. He played Jacopo de' Pazzi. He was hung by Lorenzo de' Medici. Just watched this last night.
Pretty Pangolin 6 years ago
'Jupiter Ascending,' I think? Think he survived that one.
Load More Replies... Cherie of Numenor 6 years ago
When I read Game of Thrones, before the series ever came out on HBO, I could not believe his character died, I had to read on another hundred or so pages before I could truly accept that he was dead....and so began the author killing off people that you least expected....
Petri Häkkinen 6 years ago
Charlize Theron has died as many times as Bean in half as many movies.
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