There are a ton of television series with main characters who get killed off for plot-driven
reasons, such as The Walking Dead, or because actors' contracts are up, like Josh Charles
on The Good Wife.
But then there are characters who are killed off because the actors playing them are causing
such a mess behind the scenes that the producers just can't wait to get rid of them.
Here's a look at some characters who were killed off because of the actor's behavior.
Patrick Dempsey
Fans of the long-running medical drama Grey's Anatomy were blown away when McDreamy bit
the McDust after a car crash during the Season 11 finale in 2015.
Rumor has it actor Patrick Dempsey hastened his own demise with some behind-the-scenes
drama that show creator Shonda Rhimes would not tolerate.
According to Radar Online, Dempsey was allegedly cheating on his wife with a much-younger staff
member on the show, with an insider claiming that "It was obvious to everyone Patrick was
[sleeping with] her.
It got very messy and emotional on set and became a huge liability."
Rhimes reportedly suspended the actor and moved the staff member off the set.
Dempsey called the allegations "absurd," though his wife filed for divorce before later reconciling.
When The Nightly Show asked Rhimes if she'd ever killed a character because she didn't
like the actor, Rhimes was... cagey.
"Yes!"
"Yes!
And I'm not naming names."
"No!"
Nicollette Sheridan
After Nicollette Sheridan's character, Edie Britt, was killed off in an April 2009 episode
of Desperate Housewives, Sheridan sued show creator Marc Cherry and Touchstone Television
for wrongful termination.
In her lawsuit, she claimed that during an argument with Cherry over a script, he hit
her, and when she complained, ABC fired her from the show.
Cherry, on the other hand, denied any physical violence and claimed that the character was
already slated to die before their argument.
But he did admit that her behavior contributed to the decision to can her, with the Los Angeles
Times reporting that Sheridan was allegedly critical of her castmates and nasty to crew
members, in addition to forgetting her lines and being regularly late to set.
Sheridan's wrongful termination suit ended in a mistrial, and her subsequent appeals
were rejected, leaving her desperate, indeed.
John Rhys-Davies
Sliders star John Rhys-Davies was not a fan of the sci-fi show's writing team.
The actor referred to the scripts as "incomprehensible gibberish," telling Digital Spy:
"I would go to [the writers] and complain.
But they would say, 'John, why don't you just say the words as written?' and I'd say, 'I'll
tell you what, I will actually say the words as written when you can actually write intelligent
sentences!'"
"What's that?"
"Cheese."
"That is not cheese.
Brie is cheese.
Camembert is cheese.
This is yellow plastic."
"I'll take it."
Rhys-Davies said those clashes prompted his exit midway through Season 3, insisting the
writers "screwed up because they didn't have the vision."
It's not much of a stretch to imagine, then, that the writers probably enjoyed composing
the episode where Rhys-Davies' character, Professor Maximilian Arturo, is shot and killed.
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
I think I've just seen god and I could've sworn he was driving a Cadillac."
Dominic Monaghan
Lost star Dominic Monaghan made it clear to Entertainment Weekly that he wasn't upset
about being killed off the series.
He explained:
"It's a big cast and you don't work as much as you would like.
You get bored, you get frustrated, you get lazy, and your work suffers.
And there are other things out there…There are projects out there in 2008 that if I were
to be working on Lost I would go [...] 'I know that project's going on and I can't do
it.'…I'm just excited to be free."
But the National Enquirer claimed that there was more to his departure than simply a desire
to work on other projects, reporting that his nasty breakup with co-star Evangeline
Lilly was a major source of tension on set.
And it probably didn't help that Monaghan was also vocal about his dislike for co-star
Matthew Fox, who he alleged on Twitter "beats women."
Whether or not that's true, Monaghan's outspokenness about his colleagues likely made it a relief
to everyone on set when his character kicked the bucket.
Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros
Monaghan wasn't the only Lost star whose disappearance was linked to bad behavior.
Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros, who respectively starred as Ana Lucia and Libby
on the series, were both arrested for DUI on the same night in December 2005.
Rodriguez pleaded guilty and served five days in jail and paid a $500 fine.
Watros who also pleaded guilty, faced a 90-day suspension of her driver's license, 14 hours
of rehabilitation, and $307 in fines.
Following their arrests, both Libby and Ana Lucia were killed off in the same episode.
Rodriguez and the writers both claimed her death was the plan all along, but it still
looks and sounds really fishy.
Michael Pitt
Michael Pitt was unceremoniously fired from Boardwalk Empire for his alleged poor attitude
and lackluster work ethic.
A source from the set claims, "[Pitt was] late a lot... [he had] trouble remembering
lines...[was] constantly questioning his character's storyline, tried to change dialogue a lot,
would wander from the set, got into a little fist fight with William Forsythe...
They had plans for him…but they pretty much just got tired of him."
Both Pitt and showrunner Terence Winter have denied that he was fired, claiming instead
that his character's death was planned all along.
But even Pitt's own agent allegedly tired of his behavior, with a source telling Deadline
that "UTA fired [Pitt] as a client yesterday because he's really difficult on set and otherwise."
Looks like he might have misjudged things — just like his character.
"I am not seeking forgiveness."
Eesh.
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