Most actors toil away in obscurity for years, waiting for the chance to finally burst into
the limelight.
Not every big break, however, is as satisfying as it seems at the start.
Sometimes a star gets fed up with their role.
Then again, sometimes actors just want to see their characters bite the dust in the
most epic way possible.
What more can an actor hope for but a memorable on-screen death?
Harrison Ford - Star Wars
Few roles are more associated with Harrison Ford than the one that started it all: Han
Solo.
Despite the fact that the role launched his blockbuster career, Ford initially wanted
George Lucas to kill Solo off during Return of the Jedi.
He felt that Solo's sacrifice would lend emotional weight to the story.
"And I thought the best utility of the character would be for him to sacrifice himself to a
high ideal."
But according to Ford, Lucas was reluctant to put a dent in Han Solo action figure sales,
so he kept Solo alive.
That let the scoundrel build a family with Leia within the Star Wars universe.
Meanwhile, those of us stuck in the real, crappier universe, got 40 years of Han Solo
action figures.
"Why did you do it?"
"The Empire tricked me, Han.
I had no choice!"
"Prepare for freezing."
"Long live the Alliance!"
"Goodbye, my friends."
Of course, Ford got his wish in 2015's The Force Awakens, going off to that great big
moisture farm in the sky.
Samuel L. Jackson - Deep Blue Sea
Deep Blue Sea is one of those movies that came together in the right place, at the right
time.
If it hadn't hit right before the flood of giant monster schlock fests tearing up the
Syfy Channel in the early 2000s, director Renny Harlin's goofy monster romp probably
wouldn't have made it onto the big screen.
Now, it's a guilty pleasure chock full of sharks and truly poetic dialogue.
"You ate my bird."
When Harlin initially contacted actor Samuel L. Jackson, he offered Jackson the role that
ended up going to LL Cool J — Sherman "Preacher" Dudley.
Jackson declined, so Harlin created the character of Russell Franklin specifically for him.
As soon as he read Franklin's death scene, Jackson was on board.
According to the DVD commentary, the actor relished the opportunity to die in dramatic,
horror movie fashion, saying: "I've done a lot of different things in movies...but nothing
like what happens to me in this one."
His character's death truly is one of the most memorable in recent cinematic history,
as well as something of a jab at the cinematic trope of blowhard heroic speeches.
"We're gonna seal off this..."
Leonard Nimoy - Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan
Few characters are more widely recognized than Leonard Nimoy's Spock.
Starting with the original Star Trek series, Spock has had a storied sci-fi career, appearing
on episodes of The Next Generation as well as eight Star Trek movies, from Star Trek:
The Motion Picture all the way to Star Trek Into Darkness.
However, the half-human, half-Vulcan's run nearly ended before his cinematic journey
really started.
After the first Trek film, Nimoy decided to set aside the role indefinitely, if not permanently.
To convince Nimoy to sign on for Wrath of Khan, Paramount producer Harve Bennett and
screenwriter Jack Sowards offered the actor a juicy death sequence.
Ironically, it was Spock's death that actually kept Nimoy in the Star Trek universe.
Nimoy enjoyed his last hurrah as Spock so much, that he decided to come back for further
installments — and even directed Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV:
The Voyage Home.
Isaac Hayes - South Park
No one can deny the power of Chef.
For nine seasons, Isaac Hayes' rich baritone made the lusty school lunch-prepper into one
of the show's breakout characters.
But South Park's unique brand of satire went a little too far for Hayes' taste in 2005.
The actor and musician, a Scientologist, was reportedly offended by their critique of the
controversial religious sect in the episode "Trapped in the Closet" — which mocked the
religion's biggest names such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, as well as the group's
unusual views.
"What's going on?"
"Tom Cruise won't come out of the closet."
"What?"
"Just leave me alone!"
"Well, we can't leave you alone because you won't come out of the closet!"
The episode was apparently the straw that broke Hayes' back, because the musician told
the Stone and Parker he wanted out of his contract due to South Park's "growing insensitivity
towards personal spiritual beliefs."
The character met a fittingly over-the-top end on the show, as Chef was killed after
being struck by lightning, impaled on a branch, and attacked by a mountain lion and a bear.
It was a classically South Park end to a classic character.
"Oh my God.
They killed Chef."
Dean Norris - Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is one of those shows that came out of nowhere and blew everybody away, thanks
in no small part to Bryan Cranston's performance as Walter White.
"A guy opens his door and gets shot, and you think that of me?
No.
I am the one who knocks!"
Aside from its intriguing premise and tightly coiled suspense, the show's true heart came
from a host of offbeat characters that gave the morally gray dramedy a rabid fanbase.
Of those, Dean Norris' Hank Schrader rapidly became a fan favorite.
As the series progressed to its fifth and final season, though, Norris' thespian cred
grew and acting gigs abounded.
In order to potentially start the next phase of his career, the actor asked the producers
if they could take out his character halfway through the last season, to which they replied:
"we kind of need you for the last eight [episodes].
We've been building that up for the last five years."
In light of the series' shocking conclusion, Norris was ultimately glad they convinced
him to stay.
So are the show's fans.
Sophie Turner - Game of Thrones
Yes, it's true: Sansa Stark is still alive and kicking on Game of Thrones, at least as
of the making of this video.
But Sophie Turner isn't just ready for her character to die — she's actively seeking
it out.
As a member of the powerful Stark clan, Sansa grew from a misty-eyed tween into a resilient
young heiress right before our eyes.
Sophie Turner's already moving in a new direction as Jean Grey in the X-Men universe, among
other film roles, and the actress has expressed her desire for the eldest Stark daughter to
follow in her family's footsteps.
In an interview, Turner joked: "If you're on Game of Thrones and you don't have a cool
death scene, then what's the point?"
Ain't that the truth.
Fortunately for Sansa, the HBO juggernaut is preparing to take its final bow, so she
may get her wish after all.
At the same time, writer George R.R. Martin's final books have yet to arrive on store shelves,
so we don't have any official word on the fate of Ms. Stark — assuming the series
stays remotely close the books from here on out, anyway.
When it comes to Game of Thrones, well....
"You know nothing."
Sean Bean - Lord of the Rings
The Fellowship of the Ring reintroduced J.R.R.
Tolkien's classic fantasy series to the general public in a major way, and a lot of the films'
beauty came from the epic filming locations in the mountains of New Zealand.
The problem was, Sean Bean, who played Boromir, doesn't like flying.
When he realized that Peter Jackson intended to shoot extensively on remote, rocky locales
around New Zealand, he decided to get there the old-fashioned way.
"And then they'd drop me off there and I'd sort of hike another half a mile…"
"Wow!"
"Just because I didn't want to get on the helicopter."
Basically, Bean would put on his Boromir costume and trek up the mountain on foot to reach
the set.
As many times as the actor has died on-screen, he's said that the death of Boromir in Fellowship
was easily his favorite.
But come on.
It's gotta be Goldeneye.
Everyone knows it.
"Ahhhh!"
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