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Few actors have died on-screen quite as many times as Bean; who has bitten the bullet in almost half of the movies in which he has appeared in as well as a handful of television shows and games. Many of these deaths have been simple shootings, but there have been plenty of memorable ones as well. Some have been gruesome, others tragic, and a select few have been downright bizarre.

Updated October 22, 2021 by Tom Bowen: Though the characters he’s portrayed have largely been able to stave off the sharp claws of death in recent years, Sean Bean will probably never escape his reputation as an actor that always seems to die on screen. Back in his younger days, Bean met many an unfortunate end, with more than twenty-five deaths currently punctuating his acting CV and showreel. Some have been a little generic, but most have left a lasting impression on audiences; either due to how graphic they were or because of the ridiculous circumstances that led to them. With a handful from each pot included, these are the best and most memorable Sean Bean character deaths of all time.

15 Lorna Doone (1990) - A Bog Standard Drowning

It may not always remain faithful to the source material, but Lorna Doone is still a pretty decent movie. Bean does an excellent job of capturing Carver’s ill-temper and the on-screen chemistry that he shares with Clive Owen makes their characters’ interactions infinitely more compelling.

Much like in R.D. Blackmore’s 1869 novel, Carver eventually comes to an unfortunate end after shooting up a wedding. Exhausted from the resulting chase, he drowns in a bog as long-time rival John Ridd watches on. Carver’s actions warrant no sympathy whatsoever, which, in many ways, makes the death feel somewhat satisfying in a karmic kind of way.

14 War Requiem (1989) - Bayoneted in Battle

Nobody should need reminding of the harsh reality of war, but, for those who do, War Requiem is a pretty good place to start. It’s a bleak and tragic tale of life in the trenches that explores both the psyche and motivations of those serving on the front line during the first world war. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Bean’s character is one of the movie’s many casualties.

Given that Bean is portraying a German soldier at the time, it’s unlikely that too many tears were shed when it happened. It’s still an incredibly tense and brutal scene, however, with the character first shot through the hand and then stabbed multiple times with a bayonet in what can only be described as a frenzied and frantic attack.

13 Clarissa (1991) - Slain For Revenge

With a budget of around £3 million, Clarissa is one of the most ambitious BBC miniseries to come out of the early nineties. Whether it lives up to the lofty expectations borne of its somewhat extravagant budget is definitely a matter for debate, though there can be no disputing the satisfying nature of its conclusion.

Bean’s character, Lovelace, is the kind of guy who is easy to hate, yet somehow manages to remain charming despite his obviously cruel intentions. It all catches up to him in the end though, leading to a sword fight in which he’s fatally stabbed in the abdomen. The choreography here is pretty cool, with his opponent ultimately stabbing himself through the chest in order to land the deciding blow.

12 Henry VIII (2003) - Executed for Treason

It may have only been a TV movie, but the BBC’s production of Henry VIII featured an all-star cast made up of some of Britain’s very best actors. Sean Bean was deservedly among them and played lawyer turned rebel, Robert Aske. Though some viewers took issue with some of the creative liberties taken by the movie’s writers when it came to their characterization of Aske, the manner of the character’s death was very much in line with that of his real-world counterpart.

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Just as he does in the history books, the eponymous monarch had Bean’s character executed for treason, which saw him hung outside Clifford’s Tower in Yorkshire. Given the King’s passion for beheadings, the method of execution may come as a surprise to some, though Bean would eventually go on to meet with the executioner’s blade a little later on in his career.

11 Caravaggio (1986) - A Cut-Throat Love Triangle

Not only is Caravaggio one of Sean Bean’s earliest movies, but it also marks the very first time when the actor would die on screen. On this occasion, his death comes at the hands of an angry artist, who slits Bean’s character’s throat in a passionate act of vengeance. Given the bond between the pair, it makes for a very powerful moment.

As is often the case, Bean’s character arguably got what was coming to him; having previously murdered his pregnant girlfriend in an act of jealousy. That the couple also happens to have been involved in an awkward love triangle with the titular character makes Lena’s death infinitely more tragic, as too does Ranuccio’s proclamation that he only killed Lena so that he and Caravaggio could be together.

10 Equilibrium (2002) - Executed For His Love Of Poetry

Set in a dystopian future in which a third world war has brought humanity to its knees, Equilibrium borrows a lot from the past despite its futuristic setting. The bulk of the movie takes place in Libria, a totalitarian city-state in which citizens are injected with a daily dose of psychoactive drugs in order to suppress all emotion.

Bean plays Errol Partridge, a high-ranking cleric with a love of literature and poetry. Unfortunately, these pursuits are no longer allowed in Libria, and Errol is executed by his partner after being caught saving a book of W.B. Yeats poems rather than burning it as he was supposed to. His death is not in vain though, as it does help his now former partner to discover that he too has emotions inside of him which ultimately leads to him joining an underground revolution and bringing down the establishment.

9 Far North (2007) - Killed By Climate

Sean Bean has appeared in some really bizarre movies over the years, but none more so than Far North. It’s an independent flick set in the arctic tundras of Siberia in which Bean plays an injured soviet soldier named Loki who’s taken in by a native woman called Saiva and her daughter Anja. As he slowly recovers from his wounds, Loki falls madly in love with Anja and the pair make plans to return to civilization and start a family together.

Rather than being happy for her daughter though, Saiva is overcome with grief and depression and this somehow leads to her choking her daughter to death and then wearing her face like a Halloween mask. Of course, Loki sees right through this feeble disguise, although not before having sex with her first. Upon finally realizing what has happened, he flees naked into the frozen tundra where he presumably freezes to death a short while later.

8 Goldeneye (1995) - Crushed By A Satellite

James Bond may be the most famous double 0 agent, but he is far from the only one. We see many of his comrades throughout the movies, although most are typically used strictly as background characters. One of the few who has played a major role though is Alec Trevelyan who was portrayed by Sean Bean and went by the code name 006.

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In Goldeneye, he fakes his death in order to carry out his plan to use a state of the art weapon to steal financial records from the Bank of England and completely destroy the UK’s economy. This ultimately leads to the two double 0 agents duking it out atop a giant satellite dish before Trevelyan falls to the hard ground below. Amazingly, he’s somehow able to survive this huge drop although dies not long after when he is crushed by the flaming wreckage of the dish.

7 Patriot Games (1992) - Impaled By An Anchor

Sean Bean was one of the many new faces to appear in Patriot Games, the highly anticipated sequel to Tom Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October. He plays Sean Miller, a member of an Irish republican paramilitary organization, who swears vengeance against the main protagonist Jack Ryan after he kills his brother Patrick.

The movie’s high octane climax sees the two men going blow for blow on a moving speedboat. For a while, it looks like it could go either way, but the hero eventually gains the upper hand and impales Bean’s character on an anchor. Ryan then jumps into the water just moments before the boat crashes into some rocks and explodes into a ball of flames.

6 Don’t Say A Word (2001) - Buried Alive

Based on Andrew Klavan’s novel of the same name, Don’t Say a Word sees Bean star as Patrick Koster, the leader of a gang of international jewel thieves. After they team up to steal a ten million dollar gem, however, his team double-crosses him, and he ends up in jail for quite some time.

Upon his release, he sets out to reclaim his bounty and take revenge on those who betrayed him. This eventually leads him to the grave of the late father of one of his crew and the gem ends up getting thrown into an earth excavator. Before Koster can get his hands on it though, someone turns the machine on and he ends up getting buried alive beneath a pile of fresh dirt and mud.

5 The Field (1990) - Death By Cow

The Field sees Bean line up alongside some of the very best British and Irish actors of the 20th century in a movie that’s both powerful and bizarre in equal measures. It’s centered around a bitter land dispute that arises after Bean’s character Tadhg kills a donkey that had broken into the family field and dumps its corpse in a river.

The resulting conflict eventually leads to his father going mad and herding his cattle off a cliff. Upon realizing what’s happening, Tadhg rushes to the field but is inadvertently caught amongst the irate animals and driven over the cliff himself down onto the beach far below. This pushes his father further into the realms of insanity and the movie ends with him desperately trying to usher back the tide to prevent it from claiming his son’s lifeless corpse.

4 The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001) - Impaled By Crossbow Bolts

Given the scale of the task facing the Fellowship of the Ring, it’s somewhat surprising that eight of its nine original members somehow made it back alive from Mordor. What’s not so surprising though is that Sean Bean just happened to be the one cast member who perished along the way. What’s more, he didn’t even make it to the end of the first movie.

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After being corrupted by the Ring of Power and attempting to take it from Frodo by force, Bean’s character Boromir tries to make amends for his actions by fighting off a group of Orcs to protect Merry and Pippin. Although he fights valiantly, he eventually succumbs to his many crossbow bolt wounds, and the two young hobbits are taken prisoner anyway.

3 The Island (2005) - Hanged By A Clone

The Island paints a picture of a bleak future in which clones are used as unwilling surrogates and organ donors for the rich and powerful. Bean plays Dr. Merrick, the scientist who is responsible for the day-to-day running of the compound that these clones call home. Of course, as far as they’re concerned, the compound is one of the only safe havens left on earth rather than the illicit organ factory that it really is.

Things are running quite smoothly for the good doctor until a defect with one of the clones leads to him questioning the reality of the compound and eventually discovering its true purpose. This leads to him and Merrick fighting atop a chrome sky-way and the latter hanging by his neck after it collapses as a result of the scuffle.

2 Black Death (2010) - Pulled Apart By Horses

A movie centered around the bubonic plague was always going to feature a lot of death, but the majority of those found in Black Death actually come at the hands of men rather than the deadly bacteria itself. Bean plays an envoy for the regional bishop named Ulric in this one, and it’s his faith that ultimately proves to be his downfall.

Ulric and his group eventually find themselves in a village of pagans and are taken prisoner shortly after their arrival. When they refuse to renounce their god, one of his party is crucified and disemboweled before Ulric himself is drawn and quartered by horses. He does use his last words wisely, however, announcing to the villagers that he has the plague. It’s this revelation that causes the confusion that allows the surviving members of his group to escape the village.

1 Game of Thrones (2011) - Beheaded

When fans of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series learned that Sean Bean would be appearing in the television adaptation, most knew immediately who he would be playing. Not only does Bean possess many of the same qualities as Ned Stark, but his solid track record of dying on screen made him a strong candidate for the role.

After learning the truth about Cersei and her brother Jaime, Ned attempts to prevent Joffrey from taking the throne. Unfortunately, he puts his faith in the wrong man and soon finds himself locked up in the dungeons of King’s Landing facing charges of treason. Despite sullying his honor with a false confession, Joffrey orders his execution anyway and his head is placed on a spike and displayed on one of the city’s walls.

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