Sean Bean has been killed off on screen yet again (Picture: Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock)
Sean Bean has met an untimely end on screen yet again, with his latest character’s death devastating fans.
The actor, 64, has gained some notoriety online over the years after many of his characters have been killed off in films and TV shows.
Over his nearly 40-year career, he’s had over two-dozen deaths on screen, including in Patriot Games, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Game of Thrones.
Now he’s been killed off again in period drama World on Fire, which follows the intertwined lives of ordinary civilians across Europe who are caught up in World War II.
Four years after the first season hit screens, the second was released this week, with the first episode revealing the fate of Sean’s character Douglas Bennett, a bus conductor, pacifist and shell-shocked veteran of the Battle of the Somme.
Notably absent in the return, it was explained by one of his co-stars after it aired that Douglas died off screen after his home in Manchester was hit by a bomb.
The actor played Douglas Bennett in World on Fire (Picture: BBC/Mammoth Screen)
‘So…Sean Bean is dead then,’ one fan posted on Twitter when tuning in and noticing he wasn’t there.
‘World on Fire season 2 started tonight and they’ve killed off Sean bean off screen. I am f***ing furious and devastated,’ someone else shared.
Another added: ‘Douglas didn’t survive the Sean Bean curse.’
Back in 2019 some predicted that the actor might not last long on the series, writing: ‘Sean Bean setting this on fire with his performance…great stuff so far…hope he’s not dead by the end of the first episode…’
One of his most infamous character deaths was that of Ned Stark on Game of Thrones (Picture: HBO/LMK)
‘Genuinely surprised Sean Bean isn’t dead yet,’ someone else said at the time.
This death marks the 25th time Sean has been killed off.
Some of the most notable demises have included the beheading of Ned Stark in the first season of Game of Thrones in 2011, being shot by multiple arrows to the chest as warrior Boromir in Lord Of The Rings in 2001 and falling to his death as he collided with a satellite dish in the 1995 Bond film Golden Eye.
The actor previously said he had turned down roles knowing he’d be killed off (Picture: Taylor Hill/ FilmMagic)
The first time he was killed on screen was in the film Caravaggio in 1986, when his character had his throat slit.
Other gruesome deaths included being shot point-blank in the head in 2002’s Equilibrium and being driven off a cliff by a stampede of cows in the 1991 film The Field.
In 2014 fans even went so far to set up the #Don’tkillseanbean movement, with the actor even posing in T-shirts bearing the hashtag.
Back in 2019 Sean even said he had started to turn down roles because the characters were destined to die.
‘I had to cut that out and start surviving, otherwise it was all a bit predictable,’ he told The Sun.
‘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”.
He added that he had played a lot of ‘baddies’ over the years and they had been ‘great but not very fulfilling’, especially because he ‘always died’.
World on Fire is streaming on BBC iPlayer.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : House of the Dragon star Paddy Considine ‘burst into tears’ watching his ‘shocking’ final scenes
‘I am furious and devastated.’
