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

The actor wanted Han Solo to die in the final installment of the 'Star Wars' original trilogy. Ford finally got his wish granted in 'Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens' (2015).

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Harrison Ford in '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," said Ford.

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

The actor was not happy about his lines and didn't want to say them, so it was proposed that his character would die earlier. "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 in 'Breaking Bad' (2008-2013) -

The actor wanted to kill Hank Schrader in the middle of show's final season, but to no avail. "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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Sophie Turner in 'Game of Thrones' (2011-2019) -

The actress wanted to kill off Sansa Stark before the show ended. "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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Sigourney Weaver in 'Alien 3' (1992) -

The actress didn't want to keep playing the character, so it made sense for Ellen Ripley to die at the end of the trilogy. When asked if it was her idea, Weaver replied, “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 in 'Game of Thrones' (2011-2019) -

The veteran character got bored of his role and wanted out of the show, so he asked for his character to die. "I was being completely dismissed as a character, so that wasn't any fun to play," Glover confessed.

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

Will Gardner died because the actor wanted to pursue other projects. "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 in 'Halloween: Resurrection' (2002) -

The actress wanted to kill off her iconic character, though she returned with 'Halloween' in 2018, as well as 2021's 'Halloween Kills,' and the 2022 sequel 'Halloween Ends.' 

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Michelle Trachtenberg in 'Black Christmas' (2006) -

The actress accepted the role under the condition that her character would die. This was not in the script, but she got her wish granted, as the character dies partially decapitated by an ice skate!

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

Daley took a directing job, so he asked for Dr. Lance Sweets to be killed off. "The directing job was not something that I could walk away from. It was such a huge opportunity," he explained.

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Mischa Barton in 'The O.C.' (2003-2007) -

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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Jeffrey DeMunn in 'The Walking Dead' (2010-Present) -

The actor asked for his character to die, in response to director Frank Darabont being 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 in 'Downton Abbey' (2010-2015) -

Matthew Crawley was killed off so that the actor could steer his career in another direction. "[...] 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 in 'Beneath the Planet of the Apes' (1970) -

The actor only accepted the role in the sequel under the condition that his character would die.

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

Jess Mariano wasn't killed off, but Milo Ventimiglia did push for that to happen. "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 in 'Lost' (2004-2010) -

Following the death of both of his parents, Akinnuoye-Agbaje wanted to kill off Mr. Eko and go back home to London. The producers eventually did just that.

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

Tasha Yar got killed off by the end of the first season. Crosby opened up about it: "I was miserable. I couldn’t wait to get off that show. I was dying."

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Denise Crosby in '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 added.

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Bill Murray in 'Zombieland' (2009) -

The actor was supposed to do a zombie cameo, but he liked the script so much that he asked the producers if his character could do more. The writers rewrote the scene, where he is alive and dies in a very funny way.

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

The actor asked for Dr. Lawrence Kutner to die, so that he could focus on his political career. Penn secured a job at the White House during the Obama administration, so his character died at the end of season 5.

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

The actor accepted the cameo as Officer Tom Hansen under the condition that the character would die. "He wanted closure. I had so much respect for that. It’s a brilliant idea that was absolutely not mine. It works fantastically," said screenwriter Michael Bacall.

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Chyler Leigh in 'Grey’s Anatomy' (2005-Present) -

After five years on the show, Lexie Grey was killed at the end of season 8. This was actually decided between the actress and the show 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 in Grey’s Anatomy' (2005-Present) -

Dr. George O'Malley had to die, as apparently the relationship between the actor and Shonda Rhimes wasn't great. The character was hit by a bus.

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

After voicing Chef for nine years, in 2006 Isaac Hayes asked to leave the show. The reason was because he was offended when the creators mocked Scientology.  "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. His character was killed off in the beginning of season 10.

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

The actor asked for his character, Detective Larry Zito, to be killed off, so that he could move to New York and pursue a career in theater.

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Nicola Duffett in 'Eastenders' (1985-Present) -

"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: Demanding actors who changed how movies turned out

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