Sean Bean’s had just about enough of dying onscreen, so he’s started turning down roles that feature his demise.

If one thing’s for sure in the world of TV and film – unless it’s ITV’s Sharpe – it’s that the casting of Sean Bean is ultimately for the death of the character he’s playing.

It got to the point that, after his death in the first season of Game of Thrones where he played Ned Stark, an internet campaign was started by fans of the Yorkshire actor that aimed to save him from further cinematic deaths.

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That more or less seems to have done the job… or so we thought.

As it turns out, Bean is still regularly approached by casting directors who want him to play soon-to-die characters, which he isn’t particularly happy with. Give him a minute, for pity’s sake!

With that, Bean revealed to The Sun that he now turns down the chance to be in said films and TV shows, thinking his death is too predictable now.


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He explained:

“I’ve turned down stuff. I’ve said, ‘They know my character’s going to die because I’m in it!’ I just had to cut that out and start surviving, otherwise it was all a bit predictable.

I did do one job and they said, ‘We’re going to kill you’, and I was like, ‘Oh no!’ and then they said, ‘Well, can we injure you badly?’ and I was like, ‘OK, so long as I stay alive this time’.“


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I love that bit. He continued:

But I wish I’d have got stuck now. But it was very clear what George RR Martin wanted to happen to Ned — and it did.”


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I mean you can’t say fairer than that.

How many times has Sean Bean died in TV and movies?

The gruff northern actor has died onscreen a total of 21 times in films and TV shows, ranging from his role as Alec in James Bond: Goldeneye to Ulric in Black Death.

Which actor his died the most times in TV and movies?

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The holder of that prestigious title is one Christopher Lee, who died in a grand total of 60 films, before sadly dying for real in 2017.

Sean Bean, surprisingly, has the same amount of onscreen deaths as Charlize Theron and has three less than Samuel L Jackson, as of 2015.


On a separate note, and this is a long shot, I don’t suppose you’d be interested in a picture of Draco – the dragon voiced by Sean Connery from 1996’s Dragonheart, starring Dennis Quaid – photoshopped into the background of a promotional shot from Sean Bean’s ITV historical drama Sharpe? It’s just because I did that…

Hope you like it x

Images via ITV, New Line Cinema, MGM