He was beheaded in Game of Thrones and shot with arrows in Lord of the Rings, and let’s not forget about when he was torn to pieces by horses in Black Death.
But all that dying has taken its toll on Bean, who has died 21 bloody deaths in an incredible 23-year career as an actor.
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.
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’.
I’ve played a lot of baddies, they were great but they weren’t very fulfilling — and I always died.
I’d read the Game Of Thrones books and they said to me, ‘You do die in this, but it’s near the end of the series’. And I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, fair enough’.
So, they made it very clear at the time I was going to die, and I thought, ‘I don’t want to get stuck in one of these series that lasts seven years’.
But I wish I’d have got stuck now. But it was very clear what George RR Martin wanted to happen to Ned — and it did.