Summary
OneGame of Thronesactor infamous for playing characters who face brutal and tragic endings breaks his silence about the matter. His memorable deaths inspired countless memes and the actor’s reaction will leave you flabbergasted.
Character deaths in movies and TV shows are usual because they support the story and in most cases, they are necessary for plot progression and audience engagement. For instance,Screammovies usuallystart with a brutal death in its first 10 minutesto get the audience’s attention. Death, especially when it’s cruel, creates an emotional impact and directs another character’s mission, probably for growth or revenge. For instance, inSpider-Man, Uncle Ben’s death at the hands of a criminal moved Peter Parker to embrace his role as a superhero. InBatman, the death of Bruce Wayne’s parents also drove him to pursue justice and protect Gotham. Some deaths are to motivate other characters. In some other cases, it’s to shock the audience, subvert expectations, or end a villain’s arc. One actor caught his fans' attention because they noticed that his characters usually die in movies or TV shows, but the celebrity doesn’t want to change a thing.
Sean Bean is an award-winning actor who has appeared in multiple movies and TV shows. However, most of his characters share the same ending — a tragic and brutal death. The British actorhas played at least 15 characters who died gruesomelyonscreen, sparking memes that his characters are doomed. Some fans joked that he turns down roles where he survives and makes it a habit of only saying “yes” to roles that get killed off. Bean recently sat down with Radio Times to promote his new BBC crime dramaThis City is Ours. He was asked about his characters' common fate and his response was gold. He said:
I realised there were quite a lot of deaths without anybody needing to tell me. It was obvious. But I was playing some great characters, juicy, nasty pieces of work, and I thought I’d rather play them and die than play a mundane character that lives.
Most of Bean’s characters didn’t just simply die — they died brutally. For instance, inWar Requiem (1989), his character died after being stabbed with a bayonet multiple times; inGoldeneye(1995), he was crushed by a satellite; and inHenry VIII(2003) he was executed for treason. One of his most popular roles is playing Boromir inThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring(2001), where he died after being impaled by crossbow bolts. He was the only one of the nine original members who didn’t make it back alive from Mordor. And who would ever forget his role inGame of Thrones(2011), where he played Ned Stark, who wasaccused of treason and beheaded? Bean acknowledged that he was somewhat affected by the memes. There was a time when he thought, “Maybe I should stop dying as much.” However, as an actor, he realized that the deaths of his characters served a purpose and he eventually embraced it to the point that it didn’t bother him anymore. Also, only one thing really matters for him –– that he is alive. “And, you know, I’m not really dead!” the talented actor said.
It’s easy for fans to mark Bean as the actor who always dies in movies or TV shows. However, that’s not really true because he also has some roles in which he survives. For instance, his characters inThe Martian,National Treasure, Troy, Silent Hill,andSharpe’s Perillive. Also, Bean was right that he portrayed “great characters” and even if they died, it left an impression because those roles were memorable. Otherwise, it wouldn’t even be a topic of discussion and would not spark numerous memes over the years. Had he opted for a safe and mundane role, he wouldn’t be where he is because people had already forgotten his roles. And yeah, Bean should not let those memes bother him because they only show how effective an actor he is since his characters' deaths caught fans' attention and they can’t get over it.
