15 celebrities who have died the most onscreen

Hollywood has given us innumerable iconic deaths, but some actors appear to die more frequently than others. They may be the villain, the tragic hero, or the expendable supporting player, but these stars have mastered the art of dying on the screen. Their characters are shot, stabbed, blown up, or killed in supernatural ways, so their filmographies become a cemetery of memorable demises. Others, such as Sean Bean and Danny Trejo, have even cultivated their on-screen reputation for death, making it a hallmark of their careers.

Others, such as Christopher Lee and Vincent Price, established their legacy in horror and fantasy, making sure their roles concluded in spectacular, theatrical fashion.

As Hollywood changes, some of these actors keep adding to their on-screen body count, accepting roles that ensure another dramatic departure. Even in contemporary movies, the trend continues, showing that people enjoy a good, well-performed death scene. Whether action, horror, or drama, these actors make their deaths memorable, and they leave an indelible mark on the audience.

From legendary icons to modern-day stars, here are 15 stars who have died the most on screen, making them Hollywood's most often doomed actors.

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1. Danny Trejo

Danny Trejo owns the record for the highest number of onscreen killings, according to a study by BuzzBingo, having been killed about 65 times. Trejo's onscreen deaths are as varied as his performances, from getting blown up in Con Air to being beheaded in Machete Kills. Even in more recent movies like The Curse of Wolf Mountain (2023), he still ends up dead in violent ways. Although his characters die frequently, Trejo himself never seems to stop, always appearing in new action and thriller movies.

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2. Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee's career is replete with dramatic onscreen deaths in almost 70 of them. As Dracula, he was staked over and over again, and as Saruman in The Lord of the Rings, he was stabbed to death. Even towards the end of his life, he kept playing villainous characters, like Count Dooku in Star Wars, where he died at the hands of Anakin Skywalker. Over the last few years, his voiceovers and archival footage have kept his on-screen presence alive, illustrating that even since his actual death in 2015, Lee's chilling performances will still be ruling the fantasy and horror genres.

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3. Sean Bean

Sean Bean's on-screen death record is the stuff of legend. From The Lord of the Rings to GoldenEye and Game of Thrones, he's been shot, stabbed, beheaded, and squashed. His most iconic death was in Black Death (2010), where he was eviscerated by horses. But in the last few years, he's gone out of his way to avoid dying in shows such as Snowpiercer (2020–2022), at last breaking the curse. Even with this, though, his audience continues to equate him with unhappy endings, and even he pokes fun at his "death resume." Regardless of how many times he dies, though, audiences will always look for him to die gruesomely.

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4. Lance Henriksen

With more than 50 on-screen fatalities, Lance Henriksen has perfected the craft of on-screen death. From being ripped to shreds in Aliens, shot in The Quick and the Dead, or murdered by a creature in Pumpkinhead, Henriksen's actors don't tend to live to see another day. Even in his 80s, he's still clinging to his mortality, with his most recent horror appearance in Awaken the Reaper (2023) providing another iconic death to his resume. His powerful, gravelly voice and imposing screen presence render his death scenes majestic so that viewers long to know what horrific fate he will suffer next.

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5. Bela Lugosi

Bela Lugosi, the great Dracula star, died repeatedly in his horror career. From being staked and burned to being buried alive, he established the gold standard of screen deaths in the 1930s and '40s. His appearance in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) was spine-chilling, as he had already died when production ended, so a stand-in had to complete his last scenes. In life, Lugosi faced difficulties, yet his terrifying performances continue to terrorize audiences today as old horror buffs revisit his iconic deaths in restored film reissues and contemporary homages.

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6. Vincent Price

Vincent Price's horror career guaranteed that his characters came to grisly ends in dozens of movies. From House of Wax to Theater of Blood, Price was electrocuted, burned at the stake, and buried under collapsing buildings. Even in Edward Scissorhands (1990), his last big role, he perished in a poetic and tragic manner. His signature voice is still employed in horror productions after his death, perpetuating his spooky presence for future generations. Recent retrospectives of his work emphasize the way his talent for making every onscreen killing both terrifying and theatrical cemented him as one of the greatest actors in the genre.

7. Michael Biehn

Michael Biehn's action career resulted in his death in The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, and Tombstone. Being shot, drowned, or killed by future machines, Biehn's characters hardly survive the end credits. His latest work in The Mandalorian (2020) was no exception to this rule, with his bounty hunter character being given a quick exit. Between his countless on-screen deaths, Biehn is still loved by fans, with his famous roles being revisited again and again in sci-fi and action circles.

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8. John Hurt

John Hurt's iconic Alien chestburster scene is one of the most shocking onscreen deaths ever. That was just one of more than 40 on his CV, though. He died in 1984, The Elephant Man, V for Vendetta, and Hellboy, frequently playing tragic or wise men who died in spectacular circumstances. Even in Jackie (2016), one of his last performances before his actual death in 2017, he portrayed a dying priest, bringing his career full circle. His skill at adding gravitas to each performance made his deaths all the more powerful and emotionally resonant.

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9. Gary Busey

Gary Busey's bigger-than-life screen presence made his on-screen fatalities among the most dynamite. From getting mowed down in Lethal Weapon, detonated in Under Siege, to being stalked in Surviving the Game, his characters usually did not survive. His crazy intensity brought urgency to every death, making them iconic to audiences. Recently, he came back to his horror roots in Requiem for a Scream (2022), showing that even at an advanced age, he continues to bring unpredictable and dramatic conclusions.

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10. Mickey Rourke

Mickey Rourke's tough-guy image and rugged persona have caused him to experience countless violent onscreen deaths, usually in films like Sin City, Iron Man 2, and The Expendables. The Commando (2022) gave another intense death scene to one of Rourke's characters, further confirming his status as the go-to guy for worldwide villainy and its antiheroes. No matter what happens to his characters, Mickey Rourke himself has somehow become a Hollywood survivor who keeps reinventing himself with a number of raw performances that say there is still a place for him in the industry.

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11. Eric Roberts

Eric Roberts has made a career of portraying villains, and villains do not live to tell the tale. His on-screen characters have perished in The Dark Knight, Runaway Train, The Expendables, and every low-budget action movie in between. Whether gunned down, poisoned, or betrayed, Roberts' over-the-top delivery makes every death scene interesting. With a filmography of more than 700 credits, his body count is second to none in Hollywood. Even in low-budget movies, he accepts his destiny with dramatic panache. His latest stint in independent thrillers, such as My Next Guest (2023) is a continuation of his cycle of portraying characters who meet their downfall.

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12. Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro, one of the most intense actors in the world, has allowed the characters he created to face some of the most memorable deaths in cinema. His characters have met unforgettable fates, like being shot dead in Heat or drowning in Cape Fear. Most recently, in The Irishman (2019), he portrayed Frank Sheeran in a haunting manner that showed the slow, gradual decline of a man who had caused countless deaths himself. The death count continues to rise with most actors, even with relatively recent movies such as Savage Salvation (2022).

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13. Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage has passed away in an enormous variety of strange and tragic manners. From Face/Off, where he was shot dramatically, to Mandy, where he took his revenge before dying from his injuries, his performances always add a special something to each death. His death in The Wicker Man is notorious, with the now-famous line, "Not the bees! " becoming an internet meme. In Sympathy for the Devil (2023), he contributed another intense death scene to his resume. With his unpredictable performances, fans never know whether Cage will make it until the end, so every movie is a thrilling watch.

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14. Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson has been shark food in Deep Blue Sea, gunned down by a Jedi in Revenge of the Sith, and hung in Django Unchained. His unexpected killing in Kill Bill Vol. 2 also shocked fans. His regular on-screen demise contributes to his status as one of the most versatile Hollywood actors. He surprised fans yet again with an unplanned exit recently in The Marvels (2023). Whether he is playing villains, mentors, or action heroes, his talent for making every death scene memorable makes him one of the most thrilling actors to watch on screen.

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15. Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis, a master of playing tough action heroes, has nevertheless died many times in movies such as The Sixth Sense, Armageddon, and Looper. Even his deaths in those movies often occur heroically as his characters give their lives for the good of others. His last big-screen feature, Assassin (2023), gave him one more tragic finale on his resume, bringing his acting career to a close after retiring on health grounds. His legacy as a top-billed star who could manage both emotional depth and pyrotechnic action ensures that his influence will be felt for years to come, long after his onscreen death.