If there is one thing Sean Bean has perfected, it is dying. The actor is a beloved member of the acting community, but fans can’t get enough of the actor’s death throes. Over the decades, Bean has taken on a handful of roles which have forced him to act out some rather intense deaths, and fans are hard-pressed to pick a favorite. However, Bean already knows which of his on-screen passings has been his favorite.
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For Bean, there is no character death more honorable than the one he gave Boromir in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The character may have been a disgruntled one at first, but Boromir softened throughout the feature before he was tragically killed. The human went down fighting as he went up against an armed Uruk-hai.
“It’s my favorite death scene, and I’ve done a few,” Bean told Entertainment Weekly. “You couldn’t ask for a more heroic death.”
The death was brought to life through practical effects rather than CG. Peter Jackson opted to put Bean in a metal breastplate with arrows sticking out of it. When the director called for action, Bean had to mime him being pelted with the weapons.
As for Boromir’s final words, Bean decided on what to say after he met with Jackson and Viggo Mortensen late one night. It was there the trio decided that, “My brother, my captain, my king,” would be the best thing to say.
Bean even had a few tips for aspiring actors when it came to dying. Laughing, the actor said death should be natural and not something overly showy.
“You can’t show off,” he said. “You can’t be vain or posing…. Because every time you die, it’s a big f—ing moment!” Take it from the expert.
While Boromir’s ending may stand as Bean’s favorite, the actor has acted out lots of other deaths. You can check out a couple of the star’s most memorable deaths in the slides below!
The Field
Sean Bean’s first big death came in 1990 when he starred in The Field. The actor played a modest farmer, but death still found Bean even when he was playing such a docile character. The unassuming man was pushed off a cliff when a herd of cattle stampeded him off a la the Lion King.
Patriot Games
In 1992, Bean got see himself perish at the hands of Harrison Ford. The actor played opposite the star in Patriot Games, and Bean found his villainous character offed when he was taken out with a boat anchor. Ouch.
Black Death
Come 2010, Bean’s on-screen deaths took a major turn in brutality. The actor experience a new kind of murder when his character in Black Death was quartered by horses. So, now, Bean can say he’s gone out by dismemberment if he should please.
Game of Thrones
Aside from his death in The Lord of the Rings, Bean’s other famous passing happened in Game of Thrones. The actor was cast in a lead role, so fans knew it was only a matter of time until the actor’s character was killed off. The long-awaited event finally happened when Ned Stark was beheaded in front of his people thanks to the order of Joffrey.
