Sean Bean responds to Game of Thrones & LOTR memes about him dying so much

Sean Bean has worked with some of Hollywood’s greatest directors and starred in some of the best movies and TV shows ever made.

Yet despite this illustrious career, the beloved star of Sharpe (just me?), Lord of the Rings, and Goldeneye has built up a rather odd reputation among the general public.

Specifically, people presume that if Sean Bean is in a movie or TV show you’re watching, then he’s not going to make it to the end credits. To be fair, the characters Bean plays have a bad habit of dying.  

In fact, the frequency with which Bean bumps into the Grim Reaper has become something of a meme online, a meme that the actor is very aware of. 

Sean Bean knows he dies a lot

New Line Cinema

During a recent chat with RadioTimes to discuss his new upcoming thriller series, This City is Ours, Bean admitted he didn’t need the public to tell him he dies a lot. 

“I realized there were quite a lot of deaths without anybody needing to tell me,” he explained. “It was obvious.”

However, it turns out that there’s method in his morbid choice of roles, and while the memes did get under his skin – although hopefully not in the same way an orcish arrow got under Boromir’s skin – he can laugh about it these days. 

“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,” Bean said. “But it came to a point with all the memes, and I thought, ‘Maybe I should stop dying as much.’ But it doesn’t bother me anymore. And, you know, I’m not really dead!”

…but not as much as these actors

MGM

It’s also worth noting that while Sean has a bad habit of popping his clogs on screen (by our count, viewers have watched him shuffle off this mortal coil 24-25 times), those are rookie numbers compared to other big stars. 

The late great John Hurt met his end onscreen 43 times, while Vincent Price and Dennis Hopper both bit the dust 48 times while the cameras were rolling. Still, as impressive as those achievements (Editor: is it an achievement?) are, there’s only one actor we’d call an expert at expiration.

Christopher Lee managed to kick the bucket 70 times during his long career because he loved playing horror movie villains who always got their just desserts.

Looking for something new to watch? Check out our 2025 TV show release calendar, and who knows, you might see Sean pop his clogs again?