15 Actors On Why They Left Their Career-Making Roles In Hit TV Series

Steve's farewell in Blue's Clues hits hard

Chelsi

• Published in Film & TV
• July 27, 2022

Moving from one project to the next is not an oddity in Hollywood. In fact, being a high-demand actor is one of the many indicators that you've made it.

While an everyday occurrence, some actors still make waves when they choose to leave their shows. This happens especially when the show and the character are considered one of the current favorites.

Their fans go up in arms when they don't agree with the actor's decision to leave. They sometimes judge the actor's reason for leaving, and if it's not enough for them, they take it as a personal affront.

Fans don't exactly hide their feelings when it comes to casting decisions in their favorite series. If their clamor is loud and trendy enough, they can actually influence some of these studio decisions.

That doesn't happen all the time because some actors choose to leave their roles due to personal reasons. When that's the case, some fans actually try to understand the reason behind the decision.

Though we may sometimes forget it, actors are people, too. They have feelings, families, friends, and private lives they have to go back to.

The show could have given them the start to launch their career but there will come a time when they need to part ways. It has happened before and here are 15 actors who shared why they chose to leave their iconic roles behind.

1. Dan Stevens as Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey

Dan Stevens left the hit British show because he felt done acting in period dramas. He thought if he stays long enough, he will be pigeonholed in that genre.

The actor is not a newbie in the genre when he auditioned for Downton Abbey in 2009

He considered not pushing through with the show entirely but ended up signing on anyway. He just didn't expect it to be as popular as it is now.

After three years of playing the enigmatic Mr. Crawley, he left Downton.

He wanted to explore other genres of acting. He said the appetite to explore further was too great and he was eager to indulge the "creative itches that were left unscratched."

His character was killed off by a car accident

Some fans understood and thought Dan was brave but there were others who were convinced he was mad. They lamented that the show was the greatest thing that happened to him.

For the actor, avoiding being typecast into a period drama actor was worth more.

2. Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead

Andrew said his goodbyes to the Walking Dead fandom on the 9th season of the series. The actor shared it was becoming more difficult to film in Georgia, thousands of miles away from his family in England.

His kids are growing up and the actor wanted to spend time with them

The actor has two young children who are becoming "less portable." It was the only factor in his choice to leave; it was simply time to come home.

He compared filming his final episodes as Rick to finally releasing a long held breath

3. Crystal Reed as Allison Argent in Teen Wolf

Crystal Reed retired her bow and arrow as Allison Argent on the third season of Teen Wolf. The actress left the show due to the age difference between her and her character who was a teenager.

Allison was 17 years old on the show while the actress was 29 years old at that time

The actress said she loved acting and felt there were things she would have wanted to do differently on the show. She wanted to explore other characters and other avenues of media as well.

She was unnerved when she spoke if her decision to leave with the show's creator but Jeff Davis understood why the actress felt it was time for her to go.

4. Seth Green as Oz in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Unfulfilled character development was the reason why actor Seth Green bid adieu to his werewolf counterpart on Buffy. When the promised character development didn't happen, the actor found fielding different offers more difficult.

He said his character had potential that went unexplored due to the direction the show went on

He was under a series-regular contract yet his character didn't do much. He found himself appearing in scenes where Oz wasn't really needed.

He spent ungodly hours on set just for the chance to say a one-liner

He realized that what was happening was not necessarily what they agreed upon. He asked for a 6-week break to film a movie but the producers agreed it would cause a lot of conflicts so they just wrote off his character "gracefully."

5. Ross Butler as Reggie Mantle in Riverdale

His new role as Zach Dempsey in 13 Reasons Why was the reason for Ross Butler's departure from Riverdale. He wanted to focus on his new character instead of juggling two.

He had to choose between focusing on one major role or do both shows but play smaller parts as a compromise

He said he felt more connected to his character Zach than the typical jock persona of his role in Riverdale

He committed to 13 Reasons Why before the second season was even confirmed. He did return to Riverdale for its 100th episode.

6. Skeet Ulrich as FP Jones in Riverdale

Skeet Ulrich played Jughead's father in Riverdale. The actor ultimately left the show because he felt his character had "diminishing artistic returns."

In an Instagram live, the actor got candid and told his viewers he left because he felt bored of the character creatively

7. Regé-Jean Page as the Duke of Hastings in Bridgerton

Everyone was admittedly smitten with his breakout role as the Duke of Hastings in Bridgerton. The actor left the show after one season simply because he only signed on for a season.

He said in an interview that when he was initially approached about the role, the idea that it was almost a limited series appealed to him.

His story begins and concludes after one whole season and the actor liked that. The story, after all, is still about the Bridgerton family.

The fans of the series, book and TV show alike, know how the Bridgerton books tie up neatly afer an arc.

8. Xochitl Gomez as Dawn in The Baby-Sitters Club

Xochitl said goodbye to her character, Dawn, in the Baby-Sitters Club after one season. The young actress left the TV show for the movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as America Chavez.

In an interview, she spoke of her gratitude and honor for being cast in the role of America in the Marvel movie

The actress couldn't keep both roles due to the pandemic restrictions

She couldn't do both projects at the same time due to COVID-19. She also gushed about the actress they recast as Dawn, Kyndra Sanchez, saying the both of them just clicked when they met.

9. Jon Stewart as the host of The Daily Show

After 16 years of manning the desk at The Daily Show, Jon Stewart left his late-night seat. He said in an interview with The Guardian that the role wasn't just as rewarding as it used to be.

He explained that it's not because he thought the show wasn't working anymore or he was clueless on how to proceed

He just realized that while the show was still working, he was just not getting the same satisfaction. He said that these things (hosting the show) were cyclical where you will fall in and out of love with what you do but those down times get longer and longer until you realize you are not that enamored.

Aside from his persoal feelings, he was also doubting the role of The Daily Show in America's current political landscape

He was replaced by Trevor Noah who John considered to be incredibly thoughtful, considerate, and funny

10. Maia Mitchell as Callie Foster in Good Trouble

Good Trouble is the sequel to the series The Fosters where Maia Mitchell played Callie Foster. After being a staple in both series, the actress announced her departure from the show and America.

The actress was originally from Australia and she was homesick

She described her castmates on the show as her chosen family for life. She wrote to her fans that felt fortunate for what her career has been but the "undeniable gravitational pull to return home to Australia to be closer to my nearest and dearest," was too strong.

She realized how much she missed and needed her family during the travel restriction imposed during the pandemic. She couldn't freely travel between countries and realized it was time to go home.

11. Emily VanCamp as Nic Nevin on The Resident

Emily VanCamp was also feeling the pangs of homesickness when she left the show, The Resident. She played Nic Nevin for five seasons before calling it quits.

Unlike other actors leaving their shows controversially, VanCamp said there was no drama when she left.

It was a personal decision for the actress who wanted to live closer to her loved ones

She said it was already difficult filming a show away from her family but when the pandemic hit, she couldn't see her loved ones for almost a year. That's when she realized her heart was with her family and made the decision to leave the show.

12. Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor on Doctor Who

During a sit-down interview at the Graham Norton Show, Peter revealed why he left Doctor Who behind. He said while it's a great job, it was a bit of a "television factory."

He said he was worried that he wouldn't be able to do his best work given that they had to complete 12 episodes in a year. He had an epiphany to leave the show while he still enjoyed doing it.

13. Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang on Grey's Anatomy

There was a time when Grey's Anatomy was unimaginable without Christina Yang. It was a long adjustment for fans when Sandra Oh left the show after 10 seasons because she felt her character wanted to be let go.

She said she really felt like she has already given the character everything she got creatively and she was ready to let her go

The day after she left the show, she revealed in an interview that she gave everyone gifts

She had 250 gifts prepared for everyone on set for her cast members and their production crew. That's the reason why her departure was joyous because she had personal moments with everyone involved in the show.

The gift was a champagne in a box, attached with an anatomical heart which had the number 10 on it.

Oh said it was like her heart in a box for a celebration. It was her gift of thanks.

The actress didn't leave the show empty-handed, she received a thoughtful gift herself. They gifted her with her first and last call sheets dated ten years apart, 2004 and 2014.

14. Mandy Patinkin as Jason Gideon on Criminal Minds

Jason Gideon was the de facto leader of the Behavioral Analysis Unit in the show Criminal Minds. Mandy Patinkin's, the actor who played Gideon, departure from the show shocked a lot of people.

Mandy said he left due to his reservations about the show's violent subject matter

He said signing on to do the show in the first place was his biggest public blunder. He said his time on the show was destructive to his soul and personality.

The actor thought he would quit acting entirely after leaving Criminal Minds

15. Steve Burns as the host of Blue's Clues

When the world was still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, we finally got some closure from one of the most unexpected people. The original Steve of Blue's Clues explained why he left one of the iconic shows of our childhood.

While in character, he gave a summary of what happened when he left abruptly and we didn't see him for a long time

He said he went to college

That time was challenging for him but he had a great time because he got to think. He addressed us, the audience, that we also accomplished a lot during that time when we were apart.

He said that while all of us, his original viewers, grew up and worry about grown up things, he is glad we are all still friends.

Not going to lie, Steve's explanation got to me a bit. The video received 2 million views when it was originally posted on Nick Jr.'s Twitter page.

We learned from Steve's video that goodbyes are not exactly easy but they are a normal part of life. The actors who left their beloved show had to make the tough call but they moved forward and are better for it.

Chelsi