TV Show Kills Off Major Actor’s Character After Only 2 Episodes

Death, taxes, and Sean Bean dying on screen?

Sean Bean recently starred in BBC crime series This City is Ours, where he played mob boss Ronnie Phelan. His character was eyeing retirement in the second episode, only to be executed by his protege Michael (James Nelson-Joyce).

It’s yet another fictional death for the popular actor, whose penchant for playing characters that eventually get killed has become a viral meme over the years.

It is now the 26th time that Bean has died on screen. No joke! In 2019, the actor hilariously told The Sun he stopped taking jobs where his character died because it became such an expectation.

“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,” he said. “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.’”

The actor’s first ‘death’ was in 1986’s Carravagio, where his throat was slashed. After that, some memorable deaths for the actor include being crushed by a satellite in GoldenEye, being skewered by arrows in the Lord of the Rings movies, and his beheading as Ned Stark in Game of Thrones. With his most recent role, it seems the trend will continue.