20 Actors Who Regretted Quitting Hit TV Shows

Summary

• Actors like David Caruso and McLean Stevenson left their successful TV shows too soon for varying reasons, regretting their decisions later.
• Ed Skerin, Colton Haynes, and Wil Wheaton all left successful TV roles prematurely, citing political reasons, personal struggles, and future plans.
• Andrew Lincoln, Jason Priestley, and Katherine Heigl left hit TV series due to personal reasons but later expressed regret, acknowledging missed opportunities.

Landing a prime role on a hit television show is a dream that aspiring actors have, but the likes of David Caruso and McLean Stevenson are known for having walked away from their good jobs far too soon. Television casts are always changing and it’s sometimes understandable to see actors want to try something new instead of staying in the same role year after year. However, there are some actors who have left television roles only to admit they wish they had stayed.

Some of these actors left their shows in the first season while others were well into the hit series before they decided to stop. There are also a number of reasons why these actors chose to step away from the series, whether it be in pursuit of other projects or a dislike of where the series was heading. In the end, the decisions all seemed to be a bit rash, and given a second chance, all of these actors would have chosen to stick around a little longer.

1 David Caruso – NYPD Blue

Playing Det. John Kelly

NYPD Blue came on television in 1993 and was seen as a bold take on the police procedural drama that pushed the envelope on what could be done on network television. One of the standout elements of the first season was the performance of David Caruso as fiery detective John Kelly. Caruso became a breakout star with an Emmy nomination for his performance. The acclaim eventually led to movie offers and Caruso decided to bank on his new Emmy nominated notoriety and leave the series halfway through the second season.

While it was seen as a shocking decision by many, it was made worse by how Caruso decided to leave, claiming that the series would fail without him. He was wrong and the show lasted for 12 seasons while Caruso’s movie career failed after a couple of early flops. While he eventually found success back on television with CSI: Miami, Caruso has said (via Sioux City Journal),

I’ve been pretty upfront about admitting I messed up on a great opportunity
.

2 Ed Skerin – Game Of Thrones

Playing Daario Naharis

Given the massive scale of the ensemble, it is perhaps not surprising that there have been a number of Game of Thrones roles cast throughout its eight seasons. However, the recasting of Daario Naharis is undoubtedly one of the most notable. Actor Ed Skrein took on the role of the swashbuckling warrior in season 3 with hints of him being set up as a love interest for Daenerys Targaryen. However, when the show returned for season 4, Michiel Huisman was in the role, bearing no resemblance to Skrein’s take on the character.

At the time of the recasting, it was reported that Skerin chose to star in The Transporter: Refueled rather than return to the show. However, Skrein’s departure is clouded in some intrigue as he has suggested his reason for leaving was more “political,” but insists (via EW):

“My plan was to stay with
Game of Thrones
for the long haul. That was always my plan. I would have loved to. It was a wonderful experience…”

3 Andrew Lincoln – The Walking Dead

Playing Rick Grimes

The Walking Dead was known for killing off its cast members quite frequently, but one actor who always seemed safe on the show was Andrew Lincoln. Playing the complicated leader of the survivors, Rick Grimes, Lincoln was also the leader of the ensemble for the first nine seasons. After seeing his wife, son, and best friend all killed along with many other allies he made along the way, Rick apparently died as well after sacrificing himself in season 9, only for it to be revealed he was captured by mysterious agents and taken away.

Lincoln’s exit from the show was not filled with any drama or bad feelings as the actor simply felt it was time to step away from the series he had been a part of for nearly a decade. Lincoln also stayed in touch with his costars, including Norman Reedus who revealed that Lincoln had texted him lamenting that he left so early as he felt the show got better in the later season (via EW). Luckily, Lincoln was able to return for a cameo in The Walking Dead finale which led to him starring in the spinoff The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.

4 Jon Polito – Homicide: Life On The Street

Playing Steve Crosetti

Like NYPD Blue, Homicide: Life on the Street was a ground-breaking and gritty cop show that would go on to influence shows like The Wire. It also featured an excellent ensemble cast, including Andre Braugher, Melissa Leo, and for two seasons, Jon Polito. Character actor Polito played Det. Steven Crosetti on the series, but the character was killed off at the beginning of season 3.

In an unusual case, Polito was against leaving the show in the first place as he was fired when the network insisted the series bring in a female character to help with the struggling ratings. However, the showrunners planned to keep Polito’s character alive and bring him back when the ratings went up. However, Polito did not believe the promise and publicly called out the show’s producers only to later admit (via Groucho Reviews):

“I was wrong to jump at Fontana and all that, and not believe in [Executive Producer Tom] Fontana and [Producer Barry} Levinson, because they’re great people and would’ve been faithful to me.”

5 Colton Haynes – Arrow

Playing Roy

Colton Haynes’ Roy Harper was becoming an increasingly crucial aspect of Arrow by the DC superhero show’s third season. Starting as a love interest for Willa Holland’s Thea, Roy had one of the show’s more complex arcs, taking him from a street hood to Arsenal, one of Oliver Queen’s most trusted allies. However, Roy abruptly departed the series at the end of the third season, faking his own death and leaving town after claiming he was the Arrow instead of Oliver.

It was a shocking development that fans struggled to understand. Haynes later revealed that he asked to leave the show due to his lifelong struggle with an anxiety disorder that was reaching a fever pitch when he was working long days on Arrow (via EW). Haynes still clearly loves the series and its cast, as he’s returned for guest spots several times since his departure as a series regular.

6 Wil Wheaton – Star Trek: The Next Generation

Playing Wesley Crusher

When Star Trek: The Next Generation began in 1987, the teenaged Will Wheaton was the most well-known face on the series, having just come off a star-making performance in the iconic coming-of-age movie Stand By Me. The show’s first season was notoriously troubled, and Wheaton’s Wesley Crusher got the worst of it, coming off like a bratty, deeply unlikeable know-it-all.

Even though TNG had become one of the best shows on television by its fourth season, that early impression of Wesley had calcified. Wheaton was ready to move on, thinking he’d pick up where he left off as a movie star. That never happened, and Wheaton has voiced his regrets over leaving the series when he did (via Cinemablend). It may be a small consolation, but Wheaton has become something of a nerd icon in the internet age.

7 Charlie Sheen – Two And A Half Men

Playing Charlie Harper

Despite a long career in Hollywood, Charlie Sheen’s 2011 meltdown has become one of the most well-known things about the actor. Sheen has dealt with addiction and mental health problems his entire adult life, and he hit a particularly low ebb in 2011 when he left his hit sitcom Two And A Half Men in an explosive tantrum that alienated virtually everyone on the show.

Sheen has attempted to rehabilitate his life in recent years, as he attempts to resurrect his career. He’s admitted he has regrets over how he dealt with his departure from Two And A Half Men, and lamented the fact he so thoroughly alienated the cast and crew he couldn’t come back for the show’s series finale. Sheen has since made amends with show creator Chuck Lorre, who was the target of most of his public rants, with Sheen appearing in Lorre’s new series Bookie.

8 Matt Smith – Doctor Who

Playing The 11th Doctor

After three seasons, Doctor Who star Matt Smith departed the TARDIS to make way for Peter Capaldi’s regeneration of the enigmatic Time Lord. Saying goodbye to the Doctor is built into the role; over a dozen actors have played the character over the show’s 55-year run, with Ncuti Gawa as the latest Doctor Who star.

Doctor Who is available for streaming on Disney+.

Most actors who’ve portrayed the Doctor left on their own terms, and the incredibly popular Smith did indeed leave of his own volition, but he almost immediately began voicing his sorrow over no longer filling those Gallifreyan shoes. He regretted not having a longer tenure with Jenna Coleman’s Clara, and just generally felt like he could have done one more season (via The Radio Times).

9 Josh Bowman – Revenge

Playing Daniel Grayson

By the third season of the twisty ABC drama Revenge, Josh Bowman believed his character, Daniel Grayson, had switched allegiances and crossed lead character Emily Thorne so many times that he had run his course as a believable character. Bowman went so far as to tell members of the press that he thought it made sense for his character to be killed off.

Bowman got his wish in the tenth episode of the show’s fourth season. Daniel died trying to shield Emily from a gunshot, landing on the side of the good guys on his way out the door. Bowman expressed his sadness at leaving the series (via EW), but it ended up being a relatively minor misstep on his part, as ABC canceled the series at the conclusion of the fourth season.

10 Katherine Heigl – Grey’s Anatomy

Playing Izzie Stevens

Katherine Heigl became one of the breakout stars on the hit medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, playing the character of Izzie Stevens over the show’s first six seasons. After making a pointed criticism of the show’s writers by not submitting herself for Emmy consideration in 2008, suggesting the show’s material did not warrant awards attention, Heigl abruptly left the series in 2010 after not showing up for work. She was released from her contract to pursue more film opportunities.

Grey’s Anatomy is available for streaming on Star+.

Heigl’s post-Grey’s film career was not as successful as some might have expected given her star status earlier on. She would eventually return to television roles, like a supporting role in the later seasons of Suits and Netflix drama Firefly Lane. Grey’s Anatomy has lost several key actors, including almost its entire original cast but the series has continued on despite it.

11 Jason Priestley – Beverly Hills 90210 (1990)

Playing Brandon Walsh

For nine seasons, Jason Priestley’s Brandon Walsh was the moral center of the megahit teen soap Beverly Hills, 90210. The show made Priestley a household name, with only Luke Perry’s Dylan McKay emerging as a bigger icon. Priestley was tired of the role after literally hundreds of episodes and decided to leave the series early on in its ninth season.

Priestley has admitted in his memoir that was probably a mistake, as the show would only last one more year, and he felt that the show had no center without Brandon. He also worried that he had damaged his relationship with series producer Aaron Spelling by ducking out early, though that was apparently resolved before Spelling’s death.

12 Brian Dunkleman – American Idol

Being Co-Host

American Idol’s massive success in 2002 made household names of Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Ryan Seacrest. Brian Dunkleman seemed destined for the same fame and fortune, after serving as co-host with Seacrest during the show’s first season. However, Dunkleman departed the show after that inaugural season. It remains unclear to this day if he quit or was fired.

Regardless, Dunkleman’s career essentially went nowhere. He made some forgettable reality series appearances and now carves out a living as a low-profile standup comedian. Dunkleman addressed his departure with an honest and light-hearted approach (via Variety):

Do I regret not remaining on the show now that it’s coming to an end? Yes. Especially when I open my bank statements.

13 Chevy Chase – Saturday Night Live

Playing Himself & Various Characters

Chevy Chase was the very first breakout star on Saturday Night Live as the original snarky host of Weekend Update and became famous for his pratfalls as President Ford. He shocked the entertainment world when he left the show after its first year, presumably to mine his newfound fame to become a movie star.

Chevy Chase would make several cameo appearances on the show over the years.

Chase says he left the series to follow a woman he fell in love with to California, and claims to have regrets about how he left the series. Some of that likely has to do with his post-SNL career as his movie career never took off in the way many expected that it would despite featuring some classics. After making a television comeback, Chase left the sitcom Community in an even less pleasant way.

14 Wayne Rogers – MASH (1972)

Playing Trapper John McIntyre

When Wayne Rogers signed on to MASH as Trapper John McIntyre, he was told his character would be on equal footing with Alan Alda’s Hawkeye Pierce. That may have been the original intention, but it quickly became apparent that Alda’s Hawkeye was the heart and soul of the series, and Rogers felt marginalized. He decided to leave the show after its third season in pursuit of starring roles.

Those roles never materialized, and by the ’90s acting was more of a part time endeavor for Rogers. He became incredibly successful as an investment strategist and money manager who made regular appearances on Fox Business Network. Despite his financial success outside of acting, Rogers admitted that if he knew MASH would become such a longstanding success, he probably would have swallowed his pride and stuck around longer.

15 Sherry Stringfield – ER

Playing Susan Lewis

When ER began in 1994, it was an immediate megahit that made overnight stars of its entire cast. Virtually everyone – even future A-list movie star George Clooney – hung around for the show’s first five seasons, cementing their status as cultural icons and making ridiculous amounts of money through syndication deals and renegotiated contracts. The one notable exception was Sherry Stringfield, who asked to be released from her contract during the show’s third season.

The request angered the show’s producers, who had plans for Stringfield’s Susan Lewis and the show’s lead, Anthony Edwards’ Mark Greene. After a failed attempt at movie stardom, Stringfield asked to return to ER during the show’s eighth season in 2001. She ended up staying for four more years the second time around, but her earlier decision relegated her to a minor role in the show’s pantheon.

16 Chris Latta – The Simpsons

Playing Mr. Burns & Moe

Chris Latta may not be a name many people are familiar with, but older cartoon fans will recognize his voice as providing the iconic sounds of Cobra Commander on G.I. Joe and Starscream on Transformers. Latta instilled a level of vitality into his performances that was far from standard in’ 80s TV animation.

All seasons of The Simpsons are avaiable for streaminh on Star+.

His voiceover talents eventually led to him being cast as Mr. Burns and Moe the Bartender on The Simpsons. However, he would be gone from those roles before the first season ended, reportedly due to clashes with the show’s volatile co-creator Sam Simon. Latta worked in children’s animation and standup comedy before dying in 1994 at the age of 44 from struggles with substance abuse.

17 John Amos – Good Times (1974)

Playing James Evans, Sr.

When John Amos joined the cast of Good Times, he thought he’d be taking on a role in one of producer Norman Lear’s trademark sitcoms that tackled social issues in a thoughtful, provocative manner. It soon became clear that Jimmy Walker’s J.J. Evans was going to dominate the series with his cartoonish antics and silly catchphrases.

Amos was deeply uncomfortable with the direction the show took, which led to conflict with Lear and, ultimately, his dismissal from the cast after the fourth season. Amos would find further success on both film and television, starring in projects like Roots, The West Wing, and Coming To America. Later in life, Amos admitted he could have handled his issues with Good Times’ tone in a more mature way, and regretted the damage his departure did to his relationship with Lear (via Foundation Interviews).

18 Christopher Eccleston – Doctor Who

Playing The 9th Doctor

When Doctor Who returned from its 16-year hiatus in 2005 – minus a TV movie in 1996 – one of the major indicators that the BBC was committed to making it a first-class production again was the casting of Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor. Eccleston was a highly respected film and stage actor who brought a level of class and gravitas to the series that was not unlike what Patrick Stewart brought to Star Trek: The Next Generation.

It was announced Eccleston would be leaving the role less than a week after his first episode premiered. Eccleston would later make vague allusions to a hostile work environment and a level of exhaustion, but he remains proud of his work on the show, and ultimately lamented the fact he didn’t stay in the role longer (via Drive):

“It was kind of tragic for me, that I didn’t play him for longer. He’s a beautiful character and I have a great deal of professional pride and had I done a second season, there would have been a marked improvement in my performance. I was learning new skills, in terms of playing light comedy. I was not known for light comedy and, again, production did not allow for that.”

19 McLean Stevenson – MASH

Playing Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake

MASH was instantly one of the biggest shows on television when it debuted in 1972, boasting one of the best ensemble casts in the history of sitcoms. However, that ensemble nature didn’t sit well with McLean Stevenson, who played Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake. Frustrated with the attention paid to the show’s breakout character, Alan Alda’s Hawkeye Pierce, Stevenson decided to leave MASH at the end of the third season, where his character was killed off in one of the more memorable shockers in TV history.

While MASH would march on for another highly successful eight seasons, Stevenson’s career never recovered. He conceded leaving MASH when he did was a huge mistake (via LA Times):

“I made the mistake of believing that people were enamored of McLean Stevenson when the person they were enamored of was Henry Blake.”

20 Michael Learned – The Waltons

Playing Olivia Walton

Even in the 1970s, The Waltons felt like a show from a different era. The incredibly wholesome story of a family living in rural Virginia during the Great Depression, the show was seen as something of an answer to the growing edginess and progressive leanings of that era’s most enduring shows.

One of the anchors of the show was Michael Learned, who played Olivia Walton, the family matriarch. Learned won three Emmy Awards for her portrayal, but departed the show during its eighth season due to the long hours and a desire to try something new. While still acknowledging the show had run its course and was on creative fumes when she left, Learned admitted she wished she would have stayed until the series ended (via Fox News). She ended up reprising the role in four TV movies as recently as the ’90s.