You’d think Hollywood would give some folks a break, but nope. Some stars keep getting shot, stabbed or eaten because they’ve turned dying into an art. Most actors only perish once or twice on screen. These poor legends? They drop like it’s their job. So who holds the crown for cinematic doom?
Sean Connery – 10+
Sean Connery gave audiences some of cinema’s coolest goodbyes. He’s died more than ten times on screen. From Dr. No in 1962 to his emotional exit as Henry Jones Sr in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), he always made death look classy.
Mark Strong – 10+
Mark Strong has played plenty of villains. And villains always die. Lord Blackwood in Sherlock Holmes (2009) alone took a memorable plunge. In total, Strong has racked up more than 10 on-screen deaths. That isn’t so bad considering he has over 130 movie credits.
Christopher Walken – 10+
Christopher Walken, the guy behind Captain Koons in Pulp Fiction (1994) and Max Zorin in A View to a Kill (1985), racks up more than 10 on-screen deaths.
Charles Dance – 10+
Charles Dance keeps dying for our entertainment. Tywin Lannister took a crossbow bolt on the toilet in 2014. Lord Mountbatten exploded in The Crown. But in movies, he’s racked up more than ten dramatic exits since 2011. You watch him thinking, “Here comes trouble,” because Dance is about to go down.
Bruce Willis – 15+
Bruce Willis tanked through Die Hard in 1988 as John McClane and later returned tough as David Dunn in Glass (2019). Yet writers keep killing him… around 15 times. I mean, he was dead for the entire movie in The Sixth Sense.
Willem Dafoe – 15+
Willem Dafoe’s career proves you can be the Green Goblin one year and a tragic hero the next. You’ve seen him die a ton—more than 15 times. Why does he make every exit look epic? His wild physicality and raw emotion.
Anthony Hopkins – 15+
Anthony Hopkins, the guy who chilled audiences as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and ruled Asgard as Odin in Thor (2011), racks up around 15 on-screen deaths. Death himself came to fetch him Meet Joe Black.
Samuel L Jackson – 15+
Samuel L. Jackson’s characters drop like flies. Over 15 movie deaths, from Nick Fury’s fake-out in Marvel in to Mr Glass in Glass, he shows you how to go out with style. You care because he owns every scene.
Bill Paxton – 20+
Bill Paxton racked up 20+ dramatic exits. Poor Hudson in Aliens (1986) yelled, “Game over, man,” then proved it. Twister (1996) threw Bill Harding into flying cows. You root for him, then boom—he’s gone. RIP to the legend.
Gary Busey – 20+
Gary Busey stole scenes as Billy in Point Break (1991) and Lester Diamond in The Buddy Holly Story (1978). He’s died on-screen more than 20 times.
Liam Neeson – 20+
Liam Neeson, the man with a certain set of skills, keeps saving the day, then dying for it. He’s been taken by death over 20 times. You watch Oskar in Schindler’s List (1993), cry a little, then wonder why he can’t catch a break.
Max von Sydow – 20+
Max von Sydow racked up more than 20 dramatic exits on screen. The man who gave us Father Merrin in 1973’s The Exorcist and Lor San Tekka in 2015’s Star Wars didn’t just die. He went out swinging or sacrificing himself.
Michael Biehn – 20+
Michael Biehn, 68, keeps dying on screen. More than 20 times. You root for him as Kyle Reese in 1984’s The Terminator and Corporal Hicks in Aliens two years later, then boom—gone.
Rutgers Hauer – 25+
Rutger Hauer racked up over 25 on-screen deaths, often with flair. You’ve seen Roy Batty go poetic in Blade Runner (1982) and John Ryder terrify in The Hitcher (1986).
Tom Sizemore – 25+
You’ve seen Tom Sizemore take bullets as Sergeant Horvath in Saving Private Ryan (1998) and dozens of other tough-as-nails roles. He had over 25 on-screen deaths.
Bela Lugosi – 25+
Bela Lugosi racked up over 25 on-screen deaths, each one dripping with his creepy charm. You know him as Dracula from 1931. Why did villains keep trying him? He made dying look fun.
Sean Bean – 25+
Sean Bean keeps dying on-screen, over 25 times. So many times that it’s become an internet meme. He died in The Lord of the Rings (2001), Game of Thrones (2011), Equilibrium and plenty of other films. Ask yourself why you still get attached when his characters rarely survive.
Vincent Price – 30+
Vincent Price racked up 30-plus screen deaths, from Egghead in 2005’s House of Wax to Charles in 1986’s The Fly.
Ron Perlman – 30+
Ron Perlman swung big as Hellboy in 2004, but he keeps dying… a lot. Over 30 times. You watch him walk on screen and think, yep, this dude’s toast. His tough look screams villain, so directors line him up for exits.
Eric Roberts – 35+
Roberts keeps taking roles where he gets knocked off. Well, actually, he just keep taking roles in general. When you have the highest amount of movie credits in Hollywood, you tend to get killed off a few times. The Odyssey (1997). The Dark Knight (2008). He’s died more than 35 times on screen. And considering the number of films he has been in, that’s pretty low.
Udo Kier – 40+
Udo Kier racks up over forty on-screen deaths. You spot him as Dragonetti in Blade 1998 or Dracula in Blood for Dracula 1974. Sadly, Udo Kier died this month. RIP to a legend.
Boris Karloff – 40+
Boris Karloff died in movies. A lot. Over 40 on-screen exits, each one dramatic. You know the big one: Frankenstein’s Monster in 1931, where villagers shout, and he’s “misunderstood but terrifying” at the same time.
John Hurt – 40+
John Hurt turned dying into an art. You cared every time. Over 40 on-screen exits, and each one hit hard. That chestburster in Alien (1979) still messes with your lunch.
Lance Henriksen – 40+
Lance Henriksen, now in his 80s, jokes that he’s died more than anyone in Hollywood. Over 40 times. Bishop in Aliens? Brutal. “I don’t mind dying if it’s memorable,” he once said.
Michael Ironside – 55
Michael Ironside racks up more than 55 on-screen deaths. The Starship Troopers legend keeps playing tough commanders who jump into chaotic fights then immediately regret the life choices that led them there.
Christopher Lee – 60+
Christopher Lee, who died in 2015 at 93, wasn’t just Dracula in 1958. He swung a lightsaber in Star Wars (2002) and chased rings in The Lord of the Rings (2001). Over 60 on-screen deaths.
Danny Trejo – 65+
Danny Trejo keeps getting “killed” on-screen—about 65 times—and he’s still the toughest guy in the room. You know him from Machete (2010) or From Dusk till Dawn (1996). His face walks in, and everyone knows trouble has arrived. To be fair, he’s probably killed more people on screen than his characters have died.
Frank Welker – 100+
Over 100 on-screen deaths isn’t a brag many can make. When one guy voices both heroes like Fred Jones (Scooby Doo, 1969) and villains like Megatron (Transformers, 1986), you get a body count. Rewatch your childhood favorites and spot every dramatic “Nooo”. That’s probably Frank Welker.
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