12 actors who were publicly devastated their characters were killed off

Some TV characters are sacred to the actors who play them. For the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis and Jeremy Strong, who are famous for losing themselves completely in their roles, their characters may even become engrained in their identity.

But, with every good TV show or film, characters are just as much loved as they are lost. And these exits may seem unjust, untimely, or just downright nonsensical.

Alongside the teary audience reactions that plaster social media when a beloved character dies, we see a lot of devastation from the stars, too.

The latest to speak out was Maggie Grace, who in an interview with The Independent declared that “being killed off in Lost is still the worst heartbreak of my career”.

So, in solidarity with the Taken star, here are 12 other actors who went public with their dismay when their characters got killed off.

Laurie Holden in The Walking Dead

Holden’s stubborn character Andrea was killed off in season three of The Walking Dead, but in the comics, Andrea survives for far longer. This was evidently a point of contention for Holden, as when speaking on a panel at the fan convention Walker Stalker Con, she stated: “I think the departure from book Andrea to the screen was a mistake… I think the whole stuff that they wrote about Andrea and the Governor was complete and utter nonsense.” On her character’s death, the Silent Hill star added: “There was so much beautiful narrative that was lost... she should have been there for a long time.”

Chandler Riggs in The Walking Dead

Holden was not the only actor initially left with a foul taste in their mouth after the departure of their character in The Walking Dead. Riggs, who played the troubled (and eventually one-eyed) Carl Grimes, told The Hollywood Reporter that “leaving Walking Dead wasn’t my decision”. Riggs went on, “It was quite the shocker… it was devastating for me and my family because the show has been such a huge part of my life for so long. For a few days, we didn’t know what to do.” However, in the end for Riggs, the departure “ended up being a great thing” as he got “to do all kinds of other stuff that I haven’t been able to do in the past eight years”.

Emma Caulfield in Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Sticking with the theme of monster-oriented shows, Caulfield was not impressed with the death of Anya, the forthright character she played in Buffy The Vampire Slayer. In a reunion for Buffy on Entertainment Weekly, the Timer star was visibly peeved about the lack of reception her death on the show got from the audience: “What I noticed about the finale was how little everybody cared that I died... I just think that’s kinda lame. I just think Anya garnered a little more, you know, sad face.” Caulfield went on to write a eulogy for her character Anya for Entertainment Weekly, in which it was clear the actor still cherishes the character. She wrote: “Though she died without much fanfare (like, ‘Oh well, Anya’s dead, later!’), her courage, her legacy, her selflessness lives on. And that gives me something to sing about.”

Mark Sheppard in Supernatural

Once Sheppard’s narcissistic character Crowley died in the season 12 finale of Supernatural, tensions between Sheppard and the show would boil over to the public eye. Executive producer Jim Michaels alluded to the potential for Sheppard’s return on the show on X/Twitter, posting: “Thanks for everything Mark! We never say never Mark!” To which Sheppard replied: “With all due respect, your comment is inaccurate and misleading to the fans. There are NO plans to have me return to SPN [Supernatural] at ANY juncture.”

Richard Madden in Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones was notoriously ruthless for culling beloved characters. Madden’s King in the North Robb Stark was killed off in the infamous Red Wedding scene in season three of the show. In response, the Bodyguard star, once he had wrapped filming, just walked off set: “I just wanted to leave,” he said. “I just wanted to get out.” Madden told GQ he simply got onto his flight home and “sobbed and sobbed... I was hysterical actually. I was so exhausted. I cried all the way home.” However, unlike some other actors on this list, Madden did in fact feel “ready to leave” the show after five years.

Ian McElhinney in Game of Thrones

McElhinney played bodyguard Barristan Selmy in Game of Thrones, and was killed off in season five, much to the audience’s shock, as he was still alive and kicking in the books the series was based on. McElhinney stated: “I got the script first, and then it [Selmy’s death] was evidenced in the script, and then eventually the boys [the writers] gave me a ring. If I’m honest I was a bit dischuffed by that, because I felt I should’ve known, it wouldn’t have made a difference, but I felt as a matter of courteousy I should’ve known beforehand… I was disappointed.” Unfortunately, this would not be the last time a Game of Thrones actor was left disappointed by the writing of their character in the show.

Conleth Hill in Game of Thrones

Hill played Lord Varys, also known as the Spider, in Game of Thrones, and his character was known for having a network of informers in the fantasy world. Unfortunately, his web of spies couldn’t inform him of his character’s badly written demise, and it showed in a clip of his reaction in the final table read. When talking to The Times, Hill shared that he “just felt frustrated with the last couple of series because Varys wasn’t the all-knowing character he had been. I think the writers wanted to do one thing to end it and the studio HBO wanted to do another. I felt that last series was a bit rushed. I was inconsolable.” However, Hill has come to terms with his departure and told the paper: “Now I’m fine about it.”

Joe Pantoliano in The Sopranos

HBO writers evidently have a knack for annoying actors. Pantoliano, who played soldier-turned-capo Ralph Cifaretto in The Sopranos, stormed off during a table read when he found out his character was being killed off. According to Dane Curley, who played Cifaretto’s son on the show, “As soon as he [Pantoliano] realised he was getting whacked (maybe by reading a few pages ahead of where we were), he angrily shouted (at no one in particular, but presumably the writers) and stood up from the session. His phone went up to his ear so fast to call his agent, and he stormed off. As he did this, Tony Sirico (Paulie Walnuts) yelled back some choice words to him: something like, ‘Don’t let the door hit you’re a** on the way out!’”

Samira Wiley in Orange is the New Black

Wiley’s Poussey Washington, one of the lead inmates in prison drama Orange is the New Black, was killed off in season four of the Netflix show. Wiley later confessed that “nobody else in the cast knew [of her character’s death] until the script came out”. Wiley shared: “I felt a lot of things. The first thing was shock and confusion. You’re on a show for so long and you feel a part of it and then, all of a sudden, you get news like this, and it’s a real shock.” Fortunately, Wiley’s relationship with the show ended on a positive note as all the executive producers “made sure I was OK throughout the whole process”.

Mia Kirshner in The L Word

Kirshner played dark horse Jenny in The L Word, and after the reveal of her cause of death in the sequel Generation Q, Kirshner took to X/Twitter to voice her disappointment of the treatment of her character’s legacy: “I just found out about what they did with the storyline today, and there is no way that I’m going to stay silent about this.” The cause of Jenny’s death turned out to be suicide, something Kirshner and many fans were not happy about: “I heard about her ‘suicide’ today and feel sick that this is how they dismiss the story about a survivor of sexual assault. So no. She’s not dead.”

Nicolette Sheridan in Desperate Housewives

Once Sheridan’s trouble-maker Edie was killed off in Desperate Housewives, Sheridan filed a lawsuit against ABC, Touchstone and show creator Marc Cherry. Sheridan told Entertainment Weekly in 2018 that she was struck in the head by Cherry, and once she complained about the incident, she was written off the show. “I was the victim of assault and battery on the set of Desperate Housewives by the creator of the show, my boss… I reported him and was retaliated against for doing so and fired. That is against the law,” she alleged. In response, Cherry’s representatives said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly: “Nicolette Sheridan was not a victim at the hands of Marc Cherry — a court has already ruled to that effect after hearing the testimony of multiple witnesses. We are disappointed that the judicial determination continues to be ignored.”

Elizabeth Mitchell in Lost

Maggie Grace was not the only actor in Lost who was devastated by their departure from the show. Mitchell, who played Dr Juliet Burke on the show, shared with Entertainment Weekly that she “cried for a couple days” after her character was axed from the show. Mitchell further recalled: “Evangeline [Lilly] and my sister came over and we drank until we fell asleep on the couch, which was not good, because none of us are big drinkers. We woke up and said, ‘Let’s do ice cream next time, OK?’”