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Samuel L. Jackson, 'Deep Blue Sea' (1999) -

The actor expressed dissatisfaction with his dialogue and was reluctant to deliver the lines, prompting a suggestion to expedite his character's demise. "Yeah, I’m not happy. Just kill me. The sooner you kill me, the happier I’ll be," said Jackson, who then called it "the best death ever."

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Dean Norris, 'Breaking Bad' (2008-2013) -

The actor expressed a desire to eliminate Hank Schrader during the latter part of the show's final season, however, this plan did not come to fruition. "I said, ‘Would it be interesting if Hank died in the first eight?'" the actor explained. “[AMC] said, ‘No, we kind of need you for the last eight. We’ve been building that up for the last five years’ ... Obviously, I’m glad that they did.”

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Sigourney Weaver, 'Alien 3' (1992) -

The actress had no desire to continue portraying the character, thus it was logical for Ellen Ripley to die in the final installment of the trilogy. When questioned if it was her own suggestion, Weaver responded, “Well, yes—because I heard that Fox was gonna do Alien vs. Predator. Which really depressed me because I was very proud of the movies.”

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Julian Glover, 'Game of Thrones' (2011-2019) -

The experienced actor grew weary of his role and desired to exit the show; thus, he requested his character be killed. "I was being completely dismissed as a character, so that wasn't any fun to play," Glover confessed.

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Josh Charles, 'The Good Wife' (2009-2016) -

Charles stated that the character Will Gardner's death in the show was driven by his own desire to explore new opportunities in his life and career. "It was just a creative decision for me wanting to go and explore new stuff—in my life, in my career," said Charles.

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Jamie Lee Curtis, 'Halloween: Resurrection' (2002) -

The actress wanted to kill her famous character after the early movies, but later reprised her role in 'Halloween' in 2018, followed by 'Halloween Kills' in 2021, and 'Halloween Ends' in 2022.

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Michelle Trachtenberg, 'Black Christmas' (2006) -

The actress agreed to take on the role on the condition that her character would die. Although it wasn't originally scripted, her request was fulfilled and the character was partially decapitated by an ice skate!

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John Francis Daley, 'Bones' (2005-2017) -

Daley accepted a directing position and requested that Dr. Lance Sweets' character be written out.  "The directing job was not something that I could walk away from. It was such a huge opportunity," he clarified.

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Mischa Barton, 'The O.C.' (20003-2007) -

Marissa Cooper dies in season 3. "I love that she had this epic death and that it ended like that because it's memorable and it's not just another flash in the pan," the actress said. "I wanted it to be as gory and as bloody as possible."

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Harrison Ford, 'Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi' (1983) -

The actor had a desire for Han Solo to meet his end in the last part of the 'Star Wars' original series. Ford's wish was ultimately fulfilled in 'Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens' (2015).

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Harrison Ford, 'Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi' (1983) -

"I’ve been arguing for Han Solo to die for about 30 years, not because I was tired of him or because he’s boring, but his sacrifice for the other characters would lend gravitas and emotional weight,"  stated Ford.

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Jeffrey DeMunn, 'The Walking Dead' (2010-2022) -

The actor made a request for his character to be killed off after the director, Frank Darabont, was fired from the show. "Dale's death was my decision. I was furious about how Frank was pushed out of the show[...] And then I realized, 'Oh, I can quit.' So I called them and said, 'It's a zombie show. Kill me. I don't want to do this anymore.' It was an immense relief to me," said DeMunn.

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Dan Stevens, 'Downton Abbey' (2010-2015) -

Matthew Crawley was written out of the show to allow the actor to pursue different opportunities. "[...] it was a very difficult decision. But it felt like a good time to take stock, to take a moment. From a personal point of view, I wanted a chance to do other things," said Stevens.

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Charlton Heston, 'Beneath the Planet of the Apes' (1970) -

The actor agreed to be in the sequel as long as his character died!

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Milo Ventimiglia, 'Gilmore Girls' (2000-2007) -

Milo Ventimiglia, who played the character Jess Mariano, had suggested killing off the character. Ventimiglia revealed, "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 in the side of the neck, something bad. I guess I thought it would be kind of cool," he said.

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Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, 'Lost' (2004-2010) -

After losing both his parents, Akinnuoye-Agbaje wanted to kill off his character Mr. Eko and return to his hometown of London. Eventually, the producers fulfilled his wish.

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Denise Crosby, 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' (1987 to 1994) -

Tasha Yar was killed off in the finale of the first season. Crosby shared her feelings: "I was miserable. I couldn’t wait to get off that show. I was dying."

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Denise Crosby, 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' (1987-1994) -

"This was not an overnight decision. I was grateful to have made that many episodes, but I didn’t want to spend the next six years going 'Aye, aye, captain,' and standing there, in the same uniform, in the same position on the bridge. It just scared the hell out of me that this was what I was going to be doing for the next x amount of years," she explained.

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Bill Murray, 'Zombieland' (2009) -

Initially cast for a small zombie cameo, the actor's affinity towards the script led him to approach the producers with a request to extend his character's role. As a result, the writers ingeniously altered the scene, portraying him as a living character who meets a comically amusing demise.

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Kal Penn, 'House' (2004-2012) -

The actor requested the character Dr. Lawrence Kutner's death to shift his attention to his political aspirations. Penn was appointed to a position in the White House under the Obama administration, leading to his character's death in season 5.

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Johnny Depp, '21 Jump Street' (2012) -

The actor agreed to portray Officer Tom Hansen in a minor role, on the condition that the character gets killed. Screenwriter Michael Bacall commended this decision, "He wanted closure. I had so much respect for that. It’s a brilliant idea that was absolutely not mine. It works fantastically".

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Chyler Leigh, 'Grey's Anatomy' (2005-Present) -

Lexie Grey's character died at the end of season 8, a mutual decision reached by the actress and the show's creator, Shonda Rhimes. "We had a lot of thoughtful discussion about it and ultimately we both decided this was the right time for her character’s journey to end,” said Rhimes.

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T.R. Knight, 'Grey's Anatomy' (2005-Present) -

Dr. George O'Malley unfortunately met his demise due to reported tensions between the actor and Shonda Rhimes. The character's untimely end was a result of being hit by a bus.

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Sophie Turner, 'Game of Thrones' (2011-2019) -

Actress Turner expressed her desire for Sansa Stark's demise before the show concluded.  "I don’t want to survive. If you’re on 'Game of Thrones' and you don’t have a cool death scene, then what’s the point?" said Turner.

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Isaac Hayes, 'South Park' (1997-Present) -

Isaac Hayes decided to depart from his role as the voice of Chef after nine years in 2006. The motivation behind his departure was his displeasure with the creators' mockery of Scientology. Hayes stated, "There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends, and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins. As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices," he said in a statement. 

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John Diehl, 'Miami Vice' (1984–1989) -

The actor requested for his character, Detective Larry Zito, to die, allowing him to relocate to New York and follow his passion for theater.

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Nicola Duffett, 'Eastenders' (1993-1995) -

"I begged to be killed. I ran to the script editor's office crying, 'Kill me NOW! I can't stand it.' The part was so boring," said the actress, after leaving the famous British soap opera.

Sources: (Mental Floss)

See also: Actors cut from movies during post-production 

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