It seems odd that actors would actually want their characters written out of a series or even killed off. After all, don’t most actors want more screen time? Well, after reading a few of these stories you may come to understand why some actors practically beg to be written out of projects.
1. Chad Michael Murray
Back when Chad Michael Murray played Lucas Scott in One Tree Hill for eight seasons, he decided to hold off on renegotiating his contract with CW and coming back for the final season.
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2. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
During his time as Mr. Eko on Lost , Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was living on the island of Hawaii to accommodate filming the series. While the writers were sad to see him go, he called it quits early so that he could get back to his family sooner. “In a perfect world, it would’ve been great to have Mr. Eko for a little longer. But it was the best time to go our separate ways,” he told Entertainment Weekly .
3. Dean Norris
Dean Norris, who played Hank Schrader in Breaking Bad wanted his character to be killed off before the end of the series, despite the writers’ preference to keep him around until the bitter end.
4. Kal Penn
Kal Penn left his role in House in season five, after being offered a job in the President Obama administration. Fortunately for fans, Kal did return to acting after completing his time working as the White House’s Office of Public Liaison.
5. Patrick Dempsey
Grey’s Anatomy fans can all agree, this was a hard pill to swallow. But Patrick Dempsey didn’t take it quite as hard as we did. In fact, he requested it. “It had been long enough. It was time for me to move on with other things and other interests. I probably should have moved on a couple of years earlier,” he told People .
6. Chyler Leigh
Patrick Dempsey wasn’t the first Grey’s Anatomy alum to decide to leave the show, and certainly not the last. Chyler Leigh who played Lexie Grey decided to leave the show early to spend more time with her family. She and the show’s creator, Shonda Rhimes, collaborated on giving “Lexie’s story appropriate closure.”
7. Donald Glover
Donald Glover who played Troy Barnes in Community opted to resign from the comedy series so that he could focus on his music career as Childish Gambino. His co-star at the time, Danny Pudi, recalls hearing Donald’s mixtape while they were working on season three together and predicted that his music pursuit was going to take off.
8. Justin Chambers
As I said, there were many Grey’s Anatomy characters to leave the show. Add Justin Chambers, who played Alex Karev, to the list.
“There’s no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that’s defined so much of my life for the past 15 years…As I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time,” he said.
9. Mandy Patinkin
While working on Criminal Minds , Mandy Patinkin decided one day that he’d had enough, and stopped showing up to set. He found the show became too graphic and distasteful, dubbing it “the biggest public mistake” he’s ever made.
10. Christopher Meloni
Christopher Meloni quietly left Law & Order: SVU due to failed negotiations. “I left with zero animosity, but I did leave clearly and open-eyed in going forward and finding new adventures,” he said. Fortunately, he did end up returning to the show in more recent seasons.
11. Jim Parsons
After winning a Golden Globe for his character, Sheldon Cooper, in Big Bang Theory, he decided to call it a day and make the 12th season his last, despite being offered $50 million contract for two more years. It was then announced that the series would end after the 12th season.
12. Topher Grace
Nearing the end of the series, the main character of That ’70s Show , Eric, “moved to Africa.” It turns out, Topher Grace opted out of the show to pursue another acting role, Eddie in Spider-Man 3 .
13. Steve Carell
After seven wonderful seasons of The Office , Steve Carell decided it was time to call it a day. While he originally planned to stay for the entirety of the series, he ultimately decided to hand in his resignation and not renegotiate his contract with NBC or return for the final season.
14. Milo Ventimiglia
Milo Ventimiglia was set on getting his Gilmore Girls character, Jess, written out of the show in the most gruesome way possible. “I was the one who actually tried to get Jess killed, and they didn’t go for it. Get him hit by a bus, a knife to the side of the neck, something bad,” he said according to E! News .
15. Sophie Turner
During Sophie Turner’s time on Game of Thrones as Sansa Stark, she revealed that she requested to be killed off.
“If you’re on Game of Thrones and you don’t have a cool death scene, then what’s the point?”
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