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Sean Bean seems to have built up a reputation as “that one actor who always dies.” It’s likely a by-product of how many of his most iconic roles feature his character dying in an often unexpected and grisly way.
However, this has become more of a meme than a reality, especially given how Sean Bean has apparently been rejecting roles where his character dies in recent years. That, coupled with the fact that he does not crack the list of the top 10 most frequently killed actors of all time, means that his status as a constantly dying actor is somewhat exaggerated. In celebration of those roles where Bean’s characters get to live, it’s a good time to look back at the notable films where the actor wasn’t required to die on-screen.
The following list contains spoilers.
‘National Treasure’ (2004)
National Treasure is a 2004 adventure film starring Nicolas Cage, which had a sequel in 2007, and seems set to become a proper franchise now, with a new series continuing the films’ storylines coming to Disney+ in 2022. Sean Bean, however, is only part of the first film, but his survival does mean he could show up again.
Even though National Treasure borrows heavily from Indiana Jones, it’s lighter and a little more kid-friendly. As a result, it features surprisingly little death, despite the main characters often being in danger. Bean’s villainous Ian Howe even gets spared from dying, instead facing arrest at the hands of the FBI at the film’s conclusion as retribution for his wrongdoings.
‘Pixels’ (2015)
Pixels is a somewhat forgotten science-fiction comedy film from 2015 that starred Adam Sandler, Kevin James, and Peter Dinklage. The premise involves skilled retro gamers being hired to defend Earth from alien invaders who misread retro video games as visual declarations of war, altering their forces to look and behave like classic video game characters before sending them to Earth.
If it sounds silly, it’s because it is, and admittedly, Sean Bean’s role here is fairly minor, playing a member of the army who goes by Corporal Hill. Still, it’s worth mentioning because he’s put into a perilous situation and comes out of it alive, though he does come very close to being eaten by a giant centipede.
‘Possessor’ (2020)
Written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg—the son of the legendary David Cronenberg—Possessor is a trippy and often horrific science-fiction/horror film that rivals many of the classics Cronenberg Sr. has put out. It’s also a very violent film about futuristic methods of assassination, meaning Sean Bean seems doomed from the start.
Sean Bean’s character survives but comes remarkably close to death after an attempt to assassinate his character fails. He’s horrifically injured from the attack and loses his daughter—who was also a target—in the assassination attempt, meaning that his ultimate fate is far from a positive one, despite him dodging death itself.
‘Silent Hill’ (2006)
You’d think there’s no chance Sean Bean would survive a horror film, but thanks to Silent Hill—a film adaptation of the legendary survival horror game of the same name—you’d be wrong. In it, he plays a father who searches for his adopted daughter in a strange town which houses a cult and a dark history waiting to be uncovered.
He’s a supporting character to the adopted daughter’s mother, who’s the protagonist, but it’s Bean who ends up being one of the few named characters to survive the film’s unnerving events. In a genre well-known for having a high body count, it’s nice to know that Bean got to play a horror movie character who didn’t die at least once.
‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief’ (2010)
One of many films that tried to get in on the whole “young adult adaptation” craze that was influenced by film series’ like Twilight, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games, the exhaustingly titled Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief arguably wasn’t the least successful, as it did get one sequel in 2013.
However, it did not become a franchise, which perhaps allowed Sean Bean to avoid death in his role as Zeus. Despite his status as a god, it is a character you could feasibly kill off to create drama or stakes for a series, but Bean managed to avoid such a fate, somewhat similar to another depiction of the character in a recent Marvel film…
‘Troy’ (2004)
Troy is a bloody and action-packed war film in a historical setting. It depicts the legend of Troy—complete with the Trojan Horse—and the conflicts surrounding it, featuring a large ensemble cast with plenty of them dying in battle by the film’s end…though Sean Bean’s character, Odysseus, is ultimately spared.
Perhaps it’s Sean Bean’s role as a supporting character that spares him from a big, dramatic death, as well as the fact that Odysseus is a legendary character in his own right that’s depicted as having had journeys and adventures independent of the legend of Troy. Funnily enough, Bean even gets to eulogize the other characters who have died at the film’s conclusion, suggesting their deaths will be remembered; all the while, he gets to go on living.
‘The Martian’ (2015)
Not only is Sean Bean spared in The Martian, but so too is every single member of the cast. It’s a survival film about one man trying to stay alive while stranded on Mars and those on Earth launching a mission to rescue him. Despite the dangerous and difficult circumstances the characters face, no one dies before the film’s ending.
Still, out of all the characters, it’s perhaps Bean’s character, Mitch Henderson, who gets the most pessimistic conclusion. As a result of his actions during the rescue mission, he’s made to resign from his role as mission director, given he overstepped orders from higher-ups to save the rescue crew from danger. In this way, he does still have to sacrifice himself, but at least it’s not in a manner that costs him his life.
‘Wolfwalkers’ (2020)
Wolfwalkers is a uniquely presented animated film about a young girl—Robyn—who discovers and befriends a pack of wolves who are led by a human girl whose spirit turns into a wolf at night. The drama comes from the fact that everyone in Robyn’s town despises wolves and resorts to violent means to eradicate them.
Sean Bean voices Robyn’s father, Bill, who himself is a hunter (though not as mean-spirited as many of the other townspeople). Even though Wolfwalkers is a family film, parents tend to die in animated films about growing up. This, coupled with the fact that the film is a little darker than your average animated family film, does put a target on Bill’s back, but thankfully he survives the film (while some villainous characters aren’t so lucky).
‘Jupiter Ascending’ (2015)
An odd science-fiction film that has the potential to become a cult classic, The Wachowskis’ Jupiter Ascending can’t be faulted for its ambition. It tells a story of an Earth woman who’s wrapped up in an outer space conflict over who will be, effectively, the King or Queen of the Universe.
Sean Bean plays a somewhat mysterious character by the name of Stinger, who plays an ally (somewhat) to the film’s heroes. He’s also a half-bee, half-human hybrid, but unlike many regular Earth bees in real life, he doesn’t end up dying in the film.
‘Flightplan’ (2005)
Flightplan is a thriller that stars Jodie Foster, and the plot involves her character waking up after a nap—while on a flight—only to discover that her daughter has somehow gone missing. Her confusion and worries aren’t helped by the fact that no one on the plane says they ever saw her daughter.
A psychological thriller with constant tension on board a plane and featuring Sean Bean as the plane’s captain? You’d be forgiven for thinking he’d die at some point, but this is one flight he actually survives (Peter Sarsgaard‘s character, however, isn’t so lucky).
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